


Date Me

by olivesnook33



Series: Fight Me? [2]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olivesnook33/pseuds/olivesnook33
Summary: “Fine,” Elsa sighed, “What does Kristoff think I should do?” she asked with feigned annoyance.She knew Kristoff gave great advice and she was actually feeling up to trying to meet someone new for once. Maren seemed nice even if it was kind of her job to be nice; but she didn’t have to humor Elsa the way she had.“He thinks you should just ask her to brunch,” she held up her hand when she saw Elsa about to protest, “She clearly didn’t realize who you were outside of just a very sick patient. That way you could get to know her without...well, you know...”Elsa narrowed her eyes at her sister, “You just gestured to all of me. What does that even mean?”“Elsa, you are a very intimidating person - even if you can’t function properly when you have a crush on someone -”“I do not have a crush!”
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Anna & Rapunzel (Disney), Anna & Ryder Nattura, Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Elsa & Gerda (Disney: Frozen), Elsa & Honeymaren (Disney), Elsa & Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Rapunzel (Disney), Elsa & Ryder Nattura, Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Honeymaren & Mattias, Honeymaren & Ryder Nattura, Kristoff & Ryder Nattura
Series: Fight Me? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096010
Comments: 61
Kudos: 183





	1. How about "Hi, it's Elsa." for starters?

**Author's Note:**

> People seemed to like Fight Me and this popped into my head. Don't know how long it will be so we will go on this journey together.

Anna would be the first to tell anyone who was listening that Elsa just put up the front of being a hard-ass. In reality, Elsa was one of the most kind and caring people a person could ever meet - if that person managed to crack the wall of ice around her personality. It didn’t happen often but Kristoff had managed and so had Ryder, Kristoff’s best friend. Then there was Elsa’s faithful assistant, Gerda, and her husband Kai, who always checked in on both sisters but mainly kept an eye on Elsa while Anna traveled for work. Which meant that the number of people who truly knew Elsa and that Elsa counted as friends could be counted on one hand. 

Anna couldn’t help but feel a little like it was her fault. Elsa had always been...shy. Anna knew that her sister had always tended to be rather anxious but that had never deterred Elsa from making friends or managing to get dates. But ever since the incident with Hans, Elsa had built a wall of ice around her heart and refused to let anyone in beyond those that were already in her orbit. Especially when it came to dating. It also didn’t help that Elsa was  _ Elsa. _ So that meant, Anna and her guilt ridden conscience were determined to make sure Elsa was happy and she firmly believed it could be with the nurse. 

Anna looked up from her work and noticed her sister, who had been napping on the couch, was now awake and rummaging about for her phone. She quietly got up and went to fetch Elsa a glass of water since it was almost time for her to take her medication. When she reached the couch she couldn’t help but poke fun at Elsa.

“You know, staring at that picture of the coffee cup isn’t going to make her text you. Especially since you didn’t have the presence of mind to give her your number,” Anna teased her sister from where she stood behind the couch, looking over her shoulder. 

Elsa huffed. “I know...but I don’t even know what to say,” she whined. 

“How about ‘Hi, it’s Elsa.’ for starters?”

“Anna! It’s not that simple. That’s the lamest thing ever and I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.”

Anna chuckled at her sister and moved around the couch to sit next to her. Elsa sat up and leaned into the armrest to make room for Anna but Anna quickly moved her sister’s feet so that they were in her lap and Elsa was laying down once more. Anna thought for a moment before turning to Elsa with a smug look on her face.

“We could always ask Kristoff for advice, he is a love expert.” 

Elsa rolled her eyes. “No. But only because he does not need to hear yet another story of me embarrassing myself in front of a beautiful woman.”

Anna shifted where she was sitting and quickly looked away from Elsa. 

“YOU TOLD HIM!”

“He’s my husband! Of course I told him! I texted him about it as I was watching it happen.”

Elsa cursed herself and her lack of any semblance of self care. If she would just listen to her body they wouldn’t be in this situation and she most definitely wouldn’t be mooning over a picture of a coffee cup. 

“Fine,” Elsa sighed, “What does Kristoff think I should do?” she asked with feigned annoyance. 

She knew Kristoff gave great advice and she was actually feeling up to trying to meet someone new for once. Maren seemed nice even if it was kind of her job to be nice; but she didn’t have to humor Elsa the way she had. 

“He thinks you should just ask her to brunch,” she held up her hand when she saw Elsa about to protest, “She clearly didn’t realize who you were outside of just a very sick patient. That way you could get to know her without...well, you know...” 

Elsa narrowed her eyes at her sister, “You just gestured to all of me. What does that even mean?”

“Elsa, you are a very intimidating person - even if you can’t function properly when you have a crush on someone -”

“I do not have a crush!”

“Sure, Jan.” Anna deadpanned.  _ “Anyway, _ you can be very intimidating and you are always worried people seek you out for the wrong reasons.”

“That’s only because someone did seek me out for the wrong reasons and you got hurt because of it. I won’t let it happen again,” she replied tersely. 

Anna was quiet for a moment. “Elsa, we talked about this, it wasn’t your fault. I chose to pursue him. How were either of us supposed to know he was a greedy bastard trying to take over your business? From what I saw she is nothing like that sociopath.”

“I know; I just don’t want to make a mistake. You know I’m not good with so many variables…”

“Which is exactly why Kristoff’s idea of inviting Maren to brunch is a great idea. It’s perfect because it is clearly a date but the timeframe makes it so if it’s going well you can stick around or if it is not going so great you can duck out with the excuse of having a meeting or something.”

“Okay, okay. I see your point but not a word to Kristoff. I don’t want him to get his hopes up. You know how he loves love.” 

Anna’s cheeks quickly tinged with pink and the tips of her ears turned a bright scarlet. 

“You’ve been texting him this whole time, haven’t you, Anna.” Elsa said with a roll of her eyes. It wasn’t a question, she could tell by the way her sister looked like she wanted to bolt that it was true. 

“Sorry, we just want to help.” she replied sheepishly.

* * *

Maren quickly got up, her stiff joints protesting as she did, and strode to the car when she heard the horn and familiar backfire of her brother’s car. 

“Ryder, you’re late,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat of the beat up hatchback. The tension of the double she just pulled quickly giving way to exhaustion as soon as she was settled in the well-worn seat. 

“Sorry, sis,” he said with a sheepish chuckle, “Kristoff and I got distracted at work making sure the new calf’s were settled in their habitat.”

“You have pictures of cute baby reindeer for me to look at as payment?”

“Of course,” Ryder replied with a smile. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures until he found the series he took of the new calfs for the sanctuary’s website.

Maren giggled as she scrolled through the pictures. “They’re so cute,” she cooed as she slipped her brother’s phone into the cupholder between their seats. 

“They really are,” Ryder chuckled as he pulled onto the main road in the direction of Maren’s apartment. “Speaking of cute...any word from your feisty patient?”

Maren sank back in her seat. She was a little disappointed she hadn’t heard from Elsa yet, but she knew that the woman would most definitely still be on the mend for at least another day. 

“Not yet, but I’m sure she’s still recovering. Her sister seemed like she would be basically holding her hostage until she was better. Maybe she’s waiting until she’s back on her own.”

Ryder quickly glanced over at his sister. It had been a while since she had shown interest in someone and when she had told him the story of the fragile woman who wanted to fight her, he couldn’t help but hope that something would come of it. 

“Well, if you never hear from her, Kristoff’s offer to introduce you to his wife’s sister still stands.”

Maren let out an exasperated sigh, “I don’t need you and Kristoff to set me up on a blind date. I’ll find someone when I’m ready.”

The drive continued in silence; Maren gazed at the window. She was looking forward to the three days she had off. She had just about dozed off when she was jolted back to reality by the vibration of her phone. 

**_Unknown Contact (8:15 pm): Hey Maren. It’s Elsa._ **

Maren couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” Maren said, trying to feign innocence. 

“Let me guess...she just sent you a message.” Ryder said as he pulled over outside of Maren’s building. 

“Maybe,” Maren said with a lilt in her voice as she began to gather the few things she had brought with her. “Thanks for the ride. I promise my car will be fixed soon.”

“It’s no problem, Honey. Let me know if you get a date.”

Maren rolled her eyes at her brother as she got out of the car. “Yeah, yeah. You’re ridiculous.”

“Text her back and get some sleep. Call me if you need a ride to work Friday,” he called as he sped off, leaving his sister on the curb. 

Maren trapsed up the stairs to her fifth floor apartment mentally reminding herself to move since the elevator was always out of commission and she could finally afford a nicer place. When she reached the top of the stairs, she was breathless and the tiredness she had been feeling on the ride home overtook as soon as she unlocked her door. 

She slipped off her shoes, threw her keys in the bowl and laid on the couch to rest her eyes for just a moment before she made herself dinner.

* * *

Elsa sighed as she looked at the number of emails she needed to go through now that she was back at work.  _ 1,256. _ About 300 for each day she was out - she really needed to better monitor her health because she was certain she wouldn’t get to any of the reports stacked in her inbox today and that just meant falling further behind. She could always delegate but she liked to be more hands on with the decision making process than most CEOs. 

She had managed to shift through approximately half of the emails when Gerda’s voice rang through the intercom on her desk.

“Ms. Andersen, Mrs. Larsen is here to see you.”

Elsa sighed. She’d been at work for three hours and Anna was already checking up on her. She reached over and pressed the intercom button to respond, “Send her in.”

Anna marched through the door like she always did and was unfazed when she took in the sight of her sister intently focused on her computer. Her nimble fingers flying over the keys and back to her usual immaculate clothing - a far cry from the disheveled woman who had stayed with her for the last four days. 

“You’re looking well,” Anna said as she sat down in the plush chair opposite her sister. 

“Hmmmm…”

“Elsa.”

“One sec. I’m...almost done.” Elsa said as she quickly reread her email before hitting send. “Anna, I’m fine. You made sure of that by keeping me with you for an extra day. You really didn’t have to come all the way down here.”

“I know. I just worry and I wanted to see what Maren said after you  _ finally _ texted her last night.”

Elsa’s face fell at the mention of the nurse’s name and though she tried to mask it, Anna knew her too well. 

“Elsa?”

“She didn’t respond.” Elsa said as she turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. Anna could practically hear the shield of ice sliding back in place over her sister’s heart. She really didn’t want to talk about it. 

“She could be working. Nurses work almost as much as you do.” Anna teased. Her attempt at levity falling flat based on Elsa’s tight frown and incessant clicking. “Really, Elsa. I’m sure she’s just working but if she doesn’t get back to you Kristoff -”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. I do not need my brother-in-law to set me up with someone. I’m fine on my own.”

“Okay, but the option is always there. Now, don’t work too hard. I told Gerda that she is to force you out of the office by 6 at the latest,” Anna shot her sister her most serious glare, knowing she was about to argue, “Elsa you are still technically recovering so you need to go home at a decent hour and get a proper night’s sleep.”

Elsa knew she was right so she relented before gently kicking her younger sister out of her office with the promise of coming over for dinner Thursday night.

She was nearly finished climbing her metaphorical email mountain when her phone buzzed and skittered along the glass surface of her desk. 

**_Maren (2:23 pm): hi Elsa i'm so glad you reached out. sorry this is so late i kind of passed out when i got home from work_ **

**_Maren (2:23 pm): i hope you weren’t too worried about me_** 😜

Elsa smiled at her phone as she read the two rapid fire messages but she was suddenly feeling very out of her depth as to how to respond. She thought for a moment before the rumble of her stomach gained her attention - right, food is important. She snatched up her phone and purse and slipped out of her office, letting Gerda know she was headed to the little cafe across the street for some lunch. 

As she waited for her sandwich she repeatedly typed and erased several different messages, worried she would come across as stiff before she finally decided to just bite the bullet and take Anna and Kristoff’s advice.

* * *

The minutes seemed to tick by slowly after Maren hit send on her second, more flirty message to Elsa and she was beginning to have regrets. She busied herself with cleaning her kitchen and sorting her laundry and by the time she was done with those tasks she wasn’t feeling any better. Finally, she talked herself down by reasoning that it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday and Elsa was probably working.

Which made her wonder what Elsa did for a living. She didn’t know anything about the woman beyond the fact that in the last week she had had bronchitis which had caused her to collapse from dehydration, that she had a sister named Anna, and she was adorable when she was extremely tired and slightly high on cough medicine. The memory of Elsa buried under the mountain of pillows and blankets brought a laugh to her lips that almost made her miss the sound of her phone chirping on the coffee table. 

**_Elsa (3:06 pm): It’s okay. I know you probably work just as much as I do. I was wondering if you would be free for brunch tomorrow? I have a free window around 10:30 if that works for you._ **

Maren would be lying if she wasn’t a little uneasy because of the formality of Elsa’s text but she had noticed that once Elsa had fully regained her faculties in the hospital she seemed quite shy. 

**_(3:08 pm): brunch sounds perfect. do you have a place in mind?_ **

**_Elsa (3:09 pm): Have you ever been to Oaken’s Bistro? It’s one of my favorite places; they have the best pastries._ **

Maren’s eyes widen at the suggestion. She did a quick search and pulled up the menu which didn’t even have prices listed. When she clicked on the online reservation tool it indicated that there was a three month wait for a table.There was no way Maren could get a table there and she might be able to afford a meal but it would probably mean toughing it out with the food from the hospital cafeteria for a few days to balance the expense out. Really, it just added to the mystery of Elsa. 

**_(3:12 pm): i’ve never been but 10:30 works for me_ **

**_Elsa (3:13 pm): Perfect. It’s a date._ **

**_(3:13 pm) ☺️_ **

  
  



	2. Well That Went Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was greeted by a very chipper hostess who asked for her name and immediately guided her to a secluded booth toward the back of the restaurant. Maren was unprepared for the sight that greeted her. Elsa was already seated at the table but looked nothing like the fragile woman who had happily buried herself deep into the multitude of pillows and blankets. Logically, Maren knew people did not look their best in hospitals but Elsa had somehow managed to look adorable and cozy rather than disheveled and haggard. But the woman who stood to greet her could only be described as regal. Maren was suddenly feeling very out of her depth as she could only gape at her date.

Maren absentmindedly smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles of her yellow sundress as she waited outside Oaken’s Bistro. She had spent the better part of the morning nervously going through her closet, desperate to find something she deemed both appropriate for a date and the setting. When she was finally ready, she ordered a ride-share before her nerves got the better of her. She was about five minutes early and couldn’t decide if she should wait outside or inside. By the time she decided to wait inside a few more minutes had passed so she took a deep breath and pulled open the heavy door. 

She was greeted by a very chipper hostess who asked for her name and immediately guided her to a secluded booth toward the back of the restaurant. Maren was unprepared for the sight that greeted her. Elsa was already seated at the table but looked nothing like the fragile woman who had happily buried herself deep into the multitude of pillows and blankets. Logically, Maren knew people did not look their best in hospitals but Elsa had somehow managed to look adorable and cozy rather than disheveled and haggard. But the woman who stood to greet her could only be described as regal. Maren was suddenly feeling very out of her depth as she could only gape at her date. 

Maren was captivated by platinum blonde hair that fell perfectly over Elsa’s shoulders in a gentle wave and the lightest touch of makeup that drew the eye to high cheekbones and soft blue eyes that accompanied a shy smile. Then her eyes traveled down and her breath caught in her throat. Elsa was wearing a very well tailored navy suit with a killer pair of heels that made her already tall frame even taller. Every greeting Maren had thought of on the way over immediately died on her lips. Elsa nervously coughed and that was just enough for Maren to come back to reality. 

Newfound confidence surged through her and she wasn’t going to question it. Maren figured that if this all went terribly wrong or if she embarrassed herself she would probably never see Elsa again so she went for it. She closed the short distance between them and pulled Elsa into a friendly hug. 

“Hi, thanks for waiting for me,” she said as she pulled back, “you’re looking much better.”

Elsa’s already slightly pink cheeks turned a bright red as she let a small chuckle slip between her lips. 

“It was no problem. I’m always ‘annoyingly early’ as my sister likes to put it,” she replied as she motioned to the seat across from the one she had been in. “And it wouldn’t take much for me to look better than I did when we met. I was a mess. You...you look beautiful. Just like I remembered.” 

She slid into the booth and was about to tell Elsa that was utter nonsense and she had looked adorable but a waiter seemed to materialize out of nowhere. 

“What can I get you Ms. -”

She watched as Elsa cut him off with a look. He cleared his throat before continuing. 

“What can I get you...Elsa?”

Elsa glanced over at Maren who’s eyes were now flying over every option on the menu, not actually taking anything in. 

“I think we might need a minute, Erik. But I’ll start with a coffee, please,” she finished with a warm smile. 

Erik turned his attention to Maren. “And for you?”

“Uhhh...just water will be good for me.”

“I’ll be right back with those for you,” Erik said as he put away his book with a flourish. 

Maren watched him go for a moment before turning back to Elsa who was looking a little tense, “So, you come here often?”

“Yes,” she said a bit sheepishly, “They have great food any time of day and it works well for business lunches and any other occasion.”

“Business lunches?” Maren asked with raised eyebrows.  _ The plot thickens. _

Elsa simply nodded, not offering anymore on the matter. Maren continued to go over the menu, this time at a much slower pace but everything looked so good. She glanced up at Elsa who quickly looked away afraid she had been caught staring. 

“Everything looks amazing, what do you suggest?”

“Well, that depends on the kind of food you’re looking for. I always get a pain au chocolate and one of the salads since I love chocolate but want to pretend to be healthy. If you’re more like Anna, she just gets the pastry basket and then an order of french toast with extra powdered sugar. But really...everything is good.” she finished feeling like she had somehow said too much yet not enough. 

Maren hummed to herself for a moment before quipping, “Quite far removed from my usual bagel and schmear on the go.” 

Laughter bubbled out of Elsa and Maren couldn’t help but join her. Afterward, Elsa seemed to finally relax and they fell into easy conversation and started the process of getting to know one another better. 

“So, I have Anna,” Elsa said as she paused to take a bite of her pastry. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Oh, yeah, I have a younger brother. Ryder.”

“Wait a second,” Elsa said as she narrowed her eyes and seemed to scrutinise Maren closely, “Ryder...Ryder as in Ryder Nattura? That Ryder?”

Maren gaped at her. “Yeah. H-how did you know that?”

Elsa took her face into her hands before bursting into laughter. “Small world. Correct me if I’m wrong but...I’m going to assume Ryder has been trying to set you up with Kristoff’s sister-in-law for the past few months.”

Everything suddenly clicked into place for Maren then and she couldn’t help the way her body slumped back into her seat. 

“Let me guess,” Maren said as she pointed to Elsa, “Kristoff’s sister-in-law?”

“The one and only. But I thought Ryder’s sister was named Honey or at least every time he’s ever talked about her...or you that’s what he's called you.”

Maren felt her face flush. She was not overly fond of her full name and Ryder was the only person who could get away with calling her Honey. 

“Honeymaren.” she mumbled. 

“I’m sorry what was that?” Elsa teased; clearly having heard. 

Maren couldn’t help but roll her eyes before good naturedly repeating herself at an unnecessary volume. “Honeymaren Nattura is my full name. But Ryder is practically the only one that knows that. How about you? You got a last name? Or should I update your contact to say Elsa Kristoff’s SIL?”

Elsa’s relaxed posture immediately straightened. She knew she should be honest but she wanted more time to just be Elsa with Maren and not  _ Elsa. _ She opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by the arrival of Erik holding out a phone to her. 

“Ms. Andersen, Gerda said she tried to call you directly but you didn’t answer so she called the restaurant. She said there’s an emergency of some kind.”

Elsa looked apologetically to Maren. “Give me five minutes, I’ll be right back,” she said as she got up to take the call in a more private area.

Maren sat back in her seat and took small sips of her water as she waited.  _ Elsa Andersen. Andersen... _ The name sounded familiar but Maren couldn’t place where she had heard it before. She recognized that Elsa had been avoiding telling her so didn’t do a quick search of her as much as she wanted to. Instead she pulled out her phone and noticed that her brother had texted her. 

**_Ryder (11:37 am): H where are you? I came by to see how you’re doing_ **

Maren rolled her eyes but smiled as she replied.

**_(12:06 pm):_ 🙄 _sure...you probably actually came by for lunch. there’s leftover meatloaf in the fridge that i’m sure you’ve found by now_**

**_Ryder (12:08 pm):_ 👍🏽 _I owe you one_**

True to her word, Elsa strode back to the table five minutes later, just as Maren tucked her phone back in her pocket, looking a bit annoyed and frazzled.

“How's the emergency?”

“It can wait a few more minutes but they’re insisting that I am the only one who can fix it. I’m sorry we’ll have to cut this short,” she said with a rueful smile as her eyes drifted to the floral centerpiece. “I really don’t want to go,” she whispered so quietly Maren was certain she wasn’t supposed to hear. 

Feeling bold once again she reached across the table and covered Elsa’s hand with her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Neither do I. But I don’t want to keep you from the things you’re needed for. Just like you would have never forgiven yourself if I had taken the time to actually fight you since I would have been neglecting my other patients.”

“I believe you said you wouldn’t fight me because you knew I would win,” Elsa replied with a smirk. 

Maren chuckled and reached for her purse when she saw Erik approaching. 

“Ms. Andersen, your car is here.”

Elsa deflated and looked forlornly across the table. “I really am sorry I have to go but…” she trailed off and worried her bottom lip as she stepped out of the booth. “Could we maybe do this again sometime? Soon? I haven’t had this much fun on a date in well...ever,” she finished with a hopeful smile.

Maren smiled back and stood to walk Elsa out but quickly realized that they had never received the check. The confusion must have shown on her face because Elsa’s smile immediately faded. 

“I-I mean we don’t have to. We can just -”

“Oh, no, sorry. I was just thinking...are we dining and dashing at the most posh restaurant in all of Arendelle?”

It was Elsa’s turn to look at Maren in confusion. “What?”

“We never got the check?”

“I took care of it while I was on the phone. So…”

“You didn’t have to do that, Elsa. I could have -”

“No, I invited you here. I asked you on this date so I get to pay.”

Maren huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes good naturedly, “Fine but I get to pick and pay next time,” she said as she grabbed Elsa’s hand without thinking and started making her way back to the front door. Elsa’s hand was stiff at first but she quickly relaxed.

They stopped in front of the black town car that had pulled up to the curb directly in front of the doors. 

“I had a lovely time today. Thank you for inviting me.” she said with a smile.

“Me too. Thank you for saying yes. When you didn’t respond at first I thought you were just some sort of fever dream.”

Maren giggled at that. “Thankfully no.”

They both stood by the car, hands still clasped together trying to think of something that could prolong their time but Elsa’s driver finally got out of the car and told Elsa that she really had to be going. 

“Text me where you want to go next time,” Elsa said shyly. 

“I will,” Maren said with a smile and she finally let go of Elsa’s hand. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon,” Elsa breathed out as she walked toward the now open back door of the car. She was just about to ease into the seat when she quickly turned back and walked the few steps it took for her to reach Maren and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. Before Maren could register what had happened she was gone. _ Well that went well. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More dates and fluff to come. Do I know where we are headed? No. Will it at least be happy? Yes. Cause we are 8 days into 2021 and I can now say I have witnessed an attempted coup. Keep on being a dumpster fire, America. 
> 
> Stay safe. F*ck racists. ✌🏻


	3. A Quick Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (6:56 pm): Hey, did you tell Ryder about our date?
> 
> 🍯Maren (6:56 pm): hi! no why?
> 
> (6:57 pm): He’s going to be at dinner at Anna’s tonight and I didn’t want to say anything if you hadn’t already unless you would be okay with it.
> 
> 🍯Maren (6:58 pm): i’m going to kill him
> 
> 🍯Maren (6:58 pm): he just picked me up from our aunt’s and said we had to “make a quick stop” which i am now assuming is dinner with you at anna’s 
> 
> 🍯Maren(6:58 pm): it’s a trap. how do you wanna play it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! This almost took a trip to angstville but I self corrected because that is not what we need during these *unprecedented* times. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Elsa may have underplayed the severity of the emergency Gerda called about but Maren didn’t need to know that, even if they hadn’t really stopped texting each other since they parted. She might have underplayed it to herself as well since it was now over 24 hours later and she was just fnishing dealing with the fallout; but an attempted data breach will do that so Elsa hadn’t left her office, opting to sleep on her couch so she could finish recoding the security software. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Anna wasn’t currently blowing up her phone as she sprinted out of her office and into the elevator to go to the underground garage. 

When Anna called for the fifth time, Elsa answered. 

“Anna, I promise I’m leaving now. You know I had to finish otherwise government projects and data would have been vulnerable; not to mention the -”

“I know, Elsa. I was going to offer to bring it to you because I’m guessing you haven’t eaten today,” she finished with a knowing tone. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m tired but otherwise I’m fine. And no, I’m coming. I’ll be there in 20, you all can start without me. Thank you for offering though. I really need to get home and feed -”

“Kristoff went by and checked on Olaf and Bruni this morning. Drive safe. I’ll have a change of clothes ready for you when you get here.”

“Thanks, Anna.”

“Oh, and Ryder is joining us tonight. I’ll see you when you get here! Love you!”

“Love you too.”

Elsa sank back into the wall of the elevator as she hit the end button and watched the numbers as they counted down the floors. _Great, Ryder’s coming and I went on a date with his sister and no one knows._ She frowned for a moment before opening her messages and selecting Maren’s contact. 

**_(6:56 pm): Hey, did you tell Ryder about our date?_ **

🍯 ** _Maren (6:56 pm): hi! no why?_**

**_(6:57 pm): He’s going to be at dinner at Anna’s tonight and I didn’t want to say anything if you hadn’t already unless you would be okay with it._ **

🍯 ** _Maren (6:58 pm): i’m going to kill him_**

🍯 ** _Maren (6:58 pm): he just picked me up from our aunt’s and said we had to “make a quick stop” which i am now assuming is dinner with you at anna’s_**

🍯 ** _Maren(6:58 pm): it’s a trap. how do you wanna play it?_**

Somehow Elsa was not at all surprised especially since the last time she had talked to Anna about Maren she was still hoping that Maren would respond. If Kristoff and Anna figured out that Maren was actually Honey, Ryder’s sister, they would plan something like this. 

**_(6:59 pm): I’m going to be late so it’s really up to you. I’m leaving the office now and it’ll take me 20 minutes to get there._ **

🍯 ** _Maren(7:00 pm): i’ll have some fun with them_** 😜 ** _see you soon!_**

Elsa slid into the drivers seat and pulled out of the garage. The familiar drive was not long enough; especially because she was bone tired as she had gotten approximately 4 hours of sleep and her hair and makeup were clear indicators she had slept in her office. When she arrived at Anna and Kristoff’s she paused with her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath to center herself. 

Elsa kicked off her heels in the small foyer and relief flooded her tired feet. She could hear the sounds of knives and forks scraping against plates along with a hush in the conversation as Anna called out to her. 

“Elsa?”

“Yeah?”

“Clothes are upstairs on the guest bed for you. Hurry your food is getting cold!”

Elsa was relieved that she would have a few more minutes to collect herself before seeing Maren. She quickly headed up the stairs and was grateful that Anna had convinced her to leave several outfits at her house because of her proclivity for sleeping in her office and Anna was usually the one to bring her a change of clothes. Elsa changed into the jeans and sweater Anna had set out for her and quickly braided her hair. There was nothing she could do about her makeup except take it off so she didn’t look too much like she had slept with it on and she was ready to join Maren in whatever plan she had concocted. 

She couldn’t put her finger on it but talking to Maren and _trusting_ Maren were coming easy. Maren didn’t push Elsa to talk about her job and whenever she could tell Elsa was getting uncomfortable with a subject she would seamlessly switch over to something else. As she rounded the corner and caught her first glimpse of the dining room she couldn’t help but smile at Maren who smiled back and gave her a conspiratorial wink as a silence fell over the table. 

Anna was the first to break the silence. “Elsa, look who it is! Maren! Apparently her name is Honeymaren and she’s Ryder’s sister.”

Elsa glanced at Maren who seemed to be trying not to laugh...clearly she hadn't told them yet _._ So Elsa did the honors.

“I know Anna, I found that out when she and I went on a date yesterday,” she said and made sure she caught her sister at the right moment because Anna spewed water onto both Kristoff and Ryder, who were across from her, and had a coughing fit severe enough that Maren felt compelled to intervene.

“I...you...YOU WENT ON A DATE AND DIDN’T TELL US.” Anna unnecessarily yelled. 

Elsa poured herself a glass of wine and placed her plate in the microwave as she quipped, “Yes, we also got married and didn’t invite you.”

“Ha ha. I believe you’re the one who told me, and I quote, ‘You can’t marry a man you just met.’ And that should apply to women too.”

Elsa rolled her eyes and muttered about Maren not being a sociopath under her breath as she grabbed her plate and took the seat at the end of the table next to Maren even though it meant she would have to move the bread basket and the leftover dessert out of her way. When she was settled in her seat Anna turned and looked her way. 

“Don’t think you’re going to get out of telling me all about it.”

Elsa softened a bit at that, “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied. She loved sharing her life with her sister she just wished she could do it on her terms more often. At least she and Maren had gotten one date without either of their siblings meddling or making them more nervous. 

Since introductions and ice breakers were no longer needed Kristoff and Ryder left the table to take the opportunity to play with Sven in the back yard before darkness fell completely. Anna got up and busied herself with the dishes which meant that Elsa and Maren had some privacy if they talked quietly. 

“Hi,” Elsa breathed out, suddenly feeling rather uneloquent. 

“Hi, yourself. You look beautiful. That went well I think.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Because I felt like I was about to be drawn and quartered for sisterly betrayal. Brothers seem so much easier. Ryder didn’t even seem phased.”

Maren chuckled, “I’m sure I’ll get interrogated when he drives me back to my apartment. That was kind of fun though. For a minute there I thought Anna might explode. Especially at the marriage bit.”

Elsa looked down at her plate and began to push the food back and forth. “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that and should definitely apologize to her. It’s not something that should be joked about.”

Maren reached out and stoped Elsa’s nervous movements. Elsa looked up to see Maren’s brow knitted in confusion. 

“Before Kristoff...At this gala - There was this guy and…” Elsa stopped herself. She could feel her anxiety rising as it did anytime she thought about what had happened.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable. I can tell whatever it is is deeply painful.”

Elsa let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Thank you. Another time when I’ve slept more than 4 hours in two days,” she replied knowing Maren would latch onto it and it would be more pleasant to be gently admonished.

“Ahhh yes, Anna mentioned you haven’t been home since before work yesterday. I take it the emergency was much bigger than you were letting on?”

“Just a little,” Maren’s gaze was unflinching. Elsa wasn’t going to get out of this one. “Okay, it was a rather large emergency that might have involved preserving national security,” she confessed with a wince.

Elsa watched as the puzzle pieces clicked into place for Maren. She waited for the standard _oh my god_ reaction but it never came. Maren just shrugged. 

“So what did you have to fix?”

“Someone, I haven’t figured out who yet but I will, tried to hack my servers and managed to do some damage but not enough to get what they were after so I spent the last 24 hours recoding the security for the company and for the government servers connected to my company. Should be metaphorically bullet proof now.” 

“Was the pun necessary?” Maren deadpanned. “I mean, I would also be proud if I was the inventor of Kevlar but still.”

“We’re keeping her, Elsa. I like the sass,” Anna called from the sink where she was drying the dishes. 

Elsa shot an ice cold glare at Anna and Maren was surprised the younger woman didn’t freeze on the spot. 

“Your boardroom glare doesn’t work on me anymore, Elsa. I’m not ten anymore,” she said as she made her way to the sliding glass door and into the backyard. 

“I swear, it’s like she has super hearing,” Elsa said more to herself than to Maren. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s not often that people don’t immediately know who I am.”

Maren didn’t know what to say to that but it did make her wonder what it must be like to be so recognizable that Elsa would downplay who she was at every turn as she had been doing. 

“Well I’m glad I know and that you were able to prevent a disaster but I’m not pleased with your lack of self care. I know we’ve only known each other for a week but we literally met because you were in my hospital so…”

Elsa groaned and cleared her place, “Not you too.”

“Hey, I’m a nurse. It’s my job so...sorry not sorry. As long as I have a second date on the books with you I’m going to expect you to attempt self care, Elsa,” she finished as she followed Elsa to the kitchen and dried the few dishes Elsa washed. 

“Is this not our second date? I’m pretty sure the obnoxious group of humans in the backyard intended it to be one.”

“It can be if you want but it doesn’t count as my pick. You’re not getting out of our deal. I pick and pay.”

Elsa finished putting up the dishes and closed the cabinet door before turning to lean back against the counter and actually pouting at Maren before seeing it was getting her nowhere and taking on a businesslike demeanor, “I motion that we change it to you pick and I pay since it will technically be the third date.”

“Uh-uh. Not gonna happen. You can’t change the terms of the agreement no matter how cute you are when you pout.”

Elsa opened her mouth to try to continue to negotiate when she was interrupted by 100 pounds of brown fluff attempting to tackle her to the ground. 

“Sven, I just saw you two days ago you can’t have missed me that much when your mom and dad held me hostage for four days.” She said with a laugh while giving him the belly rub he was after. 

“Time for charades!” Anna called from the living room. 

Elsa groaned as she took Sven’s face in her hands and looked him in the eyes. “Do you think they would notice if I ran away?”

“They would, Auntie Elsa.” Kristoff replied as he grabbed two beers from the fridge. “You know Anna loves game night and you missed last week.”

“So did she!” Elsa tried to reason. 

“Because she was at the hospital with you.” Kristoff deadpanned as he turned to Maren. “If she’s on your team, you’re going to lose.”

Maren just laughed as Elsa frowned and mumbled “I am not that bad.”

“She’s like a genius I’m sure she can’t be that bad at charades.” Maren reasoned as she followed Elsa and Kristoff to the living room where she was surprised to find a very intense set up. There was a basket overflowing with slips of paper. A bell and an hourglass for the judge to use and a whiteboard set up on an easel to keep score. 

“Wow.” 

Elsa turned back to look at Maren. “Yeah, Anna gets a little into game night. Especially when there’s guests.” 

Anna motioned for Elsa, Maren and Kristoff to take a seat before explaining how the game would be played. 

“Now, since we have an uneven number of people we are all going to take turns being the judge. That means there will be five rounds or we will stop when we run out of answer slips, whichever comes first. We will start with teams as siblings vs. siblings so Kristoff, you’ll judge first and then we’ll just move to the left until we end up back where we started. The person who is on the winning team the most times wins.”

Elsa sighed as she scooted over to make room for Anna. She already felt like she had embarrassed herself in front of Maren enough when she was high as a kite in the hospital but it would seem her sister was determined to make sure Elsa continued to do so. Maren for her part looked like she was ready to crush the competition, her head was lowered and she and Ryder were whispering intensely. 

Maren was slightly shocked to learn that scientific and technological brilliance did not translate to a family game night. Elsa was stiff anytime she had to act something out and her knowledge of popculture and current events was evidently limited to the field of science and whatever was happening at work. After three rounds they all took a break to go to the bathroom or get snacks but Elsa stayed behind on the couch insisting she didn’t need anything. 

When Maren returned from the kitchen before everyone else she was greeted by the sight of Elsa curled up against the armrest asleep with Sven dutifully laying on the floor below her giving a soft growl as Maren approached daring her to wake his aunt. Maren kneeled down to pet Sven. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t wake her. I was surprised she lasted this long,” Maren said to him.

“Awwwwww no, not again!” Anna whispered yelled from behind Maren. 

Kristoff chuckled as he gently pressed a kiss to his wife’s temple. “I’ll drive her home. She’ll be upset if she’s away from Olaf and Bruni another night. You text Gerda and tell her she’ll need to send a car to get Elsa in the morning. And that means Maren is the winner, congrats!”

Anna left the room to get her phone as she muttered “Of course she won she wasn’t on a team with Elsa yet,” under her breath. 

Maren, Kristoff and Ryder cleaned up the living room in silence as Anna gathered Elsa’s things and took them out to Elsa’s car. Kristoff and Ryder slipped into the backyard with Sven for one last moment to “bro out,” as they liked to put it which meant the task of waking Elsa fell to Maren. She really didn’t want to wake Elsa, she looked so peaceful and she wondered for a moment about how to do it. Was Elsa jumpy? Would simply saying her name be enough?

“Honeymaren, I can feel you staring at me.” Elsa mumbled groggily as she cracked an eye open to look her way.

Maren blushed and for the first time in her life actually liked the sound of her full first name but she wasn’t about to let Elsa know that. 

“Well, Ms. Andersen, I was trying to think of the best way to wake you up without you fighting me because of it.”

“Still scared I’d win?” Elsa joked as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Where is everyone?”

“Anna is putting your clothes in your car and Kristoff and Ryder are -”

“Broing out.” Elsa finished for her with an eyeroll. 

“Yes,” Maren confirmed. 

“Oh, you’re awake. I’ll let Kristoff know so he can dri-”

“Anna I can drive myself it’s -”

“Absolutely not.” Anna and Maren interrupted in unison which caused Elsa’s mouth to snap shut. Elsa wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into now that she had another person on team “Elsa needs to take better care of herself.” Elsa deflated and leaned back into the couch as an idea crossed her mind that she would later blame her exhausted state for. 

“Fine, then I would like Maren to drive me home. She can bring my car back here. That way Kristoff and Ryder have more bro time before the two of you go out of town this weekend.”

It couldn’t be said if Maren or Anna was more shocked by the request but they both just rolled with it since Elsa’s eyes had already slid shut again. Anna turned to Maren, “If you’re okay with the plan, the sooner it’s executed the better. The more we have to wake her up the grouchier she will become. She doesn’t sleep much but she is Gollum and the ring with what little she gets.”

“That was a very unflattering comparison,” Elsa grumbled. 

“But you didn’t disagree,” Anna shot back before turning back to Maren with somewhat pleading eyes. 

“I can do that but...I don’t know where she lives and I would guarantee she will not be awake on the way there.”

“It’s already in the navigation system. You just have to hit home and I’ll have Ryder text you this address so you can get back.”

Maren nodded and looked back to the couch where Elsa had fallen asleep, again. She watched as Anna poked her sister in the cheek and said “The sky’s awake so I’m awake and we have to play.”

“Anna,” Elsa whined and she stretched to get up. “That wasn’t funny when we shared a room and it’s not funny now.”

“Years of happy memories of stifling giggles as we played in the moonlight would beg to differ,” she sing-songed as she skipped out of the living room and calling out to Maren, “She’s all yours,” with a little too much glee.

Maren watched her go and in that split second where her attention was no longer on Elsa, the other woman had managed to lay out on the couch. 

“Oh no you don’t.” Maren said as she grabbed Elsa’s hands and pulled her slowly upright. “C’mon, I’ll get you home.”

The cold night air that greeted them when they left the house didn’t phase Elsa in the slightest. Maren opened the passenger door for Elsa and then went around and climbed into the drivers seat of the surprisingly modest car. It wasn’t what she would have expected of a millionaire...or is she a billionaire? Doesn’t matter. She shook her head and adjusted the seat and mirrors so she could safely drive and then set off in the direction the navigation system indicated. 

It wasn’t a long trip and for that Maren was thankful as it meant that Elsa wouldn’t fall too deeply asleep and before she knew it she was pulling up to the curb of a highrise not too far from where she and Elsa had had their first date just yesterday. The doorman immediately recognized the car and moved to unlock and open the door of the building for Elsa. 

“Elsa, we’re here,” she said as she reached over and gave one of the other woman’s hands a squeeze. Elsa grumbled something incoherent and turned her head so it wasn’t facing Maren. Maren then went to the old fashioned shoulder shake which seemed to do the trick as it put her on the business end of an icy glare. 

“We’re here and the doorman is waiting for you, I believe.”

Elsa blinked a few times as she took in her surroundings then looked over to Maren with soft blue eyes and an even softer smile. 

“Thank you for bringing me home. Normally, I would invite you up but as you can tell I wouldn’t be much company.”

“That’s okay, you’ll just have to promise me that you won’t fall asleep during our third date.”

Elsa hummed in thought, “I’ll try not to.” 

Then she was sinking back into her seat and Maren really didn’t want to have to wake her up again.

“Elsa. You really need to get out of the car and go to bed.”

“Fine,” Elsa goraned as she turned to face Maren. “Thank you for humoring my family, tonight.”

“Thank you for humoring mine.” Maren shot back. “I have to work all weekend but I’ll text you and we can arrange something?”

Elsa gave Maren a tired but genuine smile. “I’d like that. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon,” Maren said and this time she was the one to close the distance between them and planted a kiss on Elsa’s cheek because as much as she wanted to actually kiss Elsa, now was not the time. 

Elsa seemed to have different plans though because the next thing Maren felt was a pair of cool hands gently cupping her face and soft lips against her own and she suddenly understood what people meant when they said they knew it would be their last first kiss. Kissing Elsa made the world fall away. There was nothing but Elsa and her lips and...the stupid center console that prevented Maren from pulling Elsa into her lap so they could make out like teenagers. She let out a slightly frusturated groan that caused Elsa to giggle against her lips before she placed a more chaste kiss on Maren’s lips and nearly dove in for more when sharp rapping on the window caused her to jump away from Maren. 

“Apparently, Hank got tired of waiting,” she said as she grabbed the bag Anna had packed her things into.

“Well, tell him I’m sorry I kept you longer.”

“What do you mean you -”

Maren silenced her with a kiss, this one a little deeper than the last and Elsa dropped the bag and fisted Maren’s shirt trying to pull her as close as she could before groaning just as Maren had as she rested her forehead against the nurse’s. 

“I don’t understand how teenagers do it. It’s so uncomfortable.”

Maren chuckled, “They don’t have many other options. Now go before I take you up on the offer to come up that you’re mulling over. As much as I’m enjoying this I would like to take it slow.”

“Me too.” Elsa whispered. “Thank you, again, for driving me home.”

“It’s not a -” 

Maren was cut off by the bluetooth system reading out a text message from Anna. 

**_Anna_ 👯‍♀️ _(9:46 pm): Stop making out. Ryder is ready to go_ **

Elsa blushed deeply. “I don’t know how she does that.”

Maren laughed at that. “It’s kinda impressive.”

“You say that now until she starts using her powers on you.”

Maren shrugged. “I’ll live. But you really have to go. Hank, is it? Is getting beyond impatient.”

“Okay. Text me when you get home so I know you made it safely.”

“Will do. Now go before she tries to video call you or something.” 

Elsa reluctantly grabbed the bag again and managed to open the door before turning back and placing one last chaste kiss to Maren’s lips.

“Goodnight, Honeymaren.”

“Goodnight, Elsa. Sleep well.”

Maren watched as Elsa highfived the doorman. Apparently Hank wasn’t that upset after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are once again. There's more to be told here so the cuteness will continue!


	4. A Guest?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How are you today, Maren?” 
> 
> The brunette smiled up at the older gentleman she had come to know quite well after years of her patronage. 
> 
> “Pretty well, General; how about you?”
> 
> “Can’t complain, business is good, Halima is good,” his attention was briefly drawn away from Maren by the tinkling of the bell above the door. He gave the newcomer a smile and a wave before turning back to his regular. “The usual?”
> 
> “Not today, I’m actually waiting for someone - “
> 
> Mattias’ eyes lit up, “Do tell…”

Maren downed the last of her coffee as she got up from the nurses’ station to do her last round of the day. She glanced at her watch for the time and was grateful that she was on pace to finish with enough time to change before meeting Elsa at Halima’s. She figured that the CEO had probably never been to anything like hole-in-the-wall diner but knew Elsa wouldn’t mind.

The nurse had slowly come to realize that while Elsa was very well-off, and would have been even if she wasn’t the CEO of Andersen Corp, she didn’t want to live life like others in her position tended to do. Elsa might have had fine clothes and killer heels to go along with the persona she carried around the office but as soon as she was around people who really knew her she went for the simple things even from the finest restaurants. 

By the time Maren arrived home she had about 45 minutes to change and get to the restaurant to meet Elsa when she inevitably arrived earlier than the set time of 8. The outfit she selected was a reflection of the diner; simple black jeans and a white t-shirt. She pulled her jean jacket out of the closet as she slid her feet into her boots and stopped to check her hair in the mirror by the door before grabbing her car keys from the bowl and heading down the stairs. _Note to self, start looking for a new place,_ she thought as she slid into the driver's seat of her car. 

It had been a long two weeks without her car and she had been thankful for the time spent with her brother but she was thankful that she had her full independence back, especially since she planned on seeing Elsa as often as possible and didn’t want to rely on Ryder or ride-shares. The trip to Halima’s was short and the nurse was surprised to find that Elsa wasn’t there when she arrived. Checking her watch and seeing that it was 7:50 she figured Elsa was running a little behind her usual time table and walked into the diner to grab her usual table at the back and soaked in the comfort of the well-worn booth. 

“How are you today, Maren?” 

The brunette smiled up at the older gentleman she had come to know quite well after years of her patronage. 

“Pretty well, General; how about you?”

“Can’t complain, business is good, Halima is good,” his attention was briefly drawn away from Maren by the tinkling of the bell above the door. He gave the newcomer a smile and a wave before turning back to his regular. “The usual?”

“Not today, I’m actually waiting for someone - “

Mattias’ eyes lit up, “Do tell…”

Maren rolled her eyes and let out a gentle laugh; the proprietor’s interest in her love life never ceased to amuse her. 

“You’ll meet her soon enough, although she’s running a little late…” Maren trailed off as she fished her phone out of her pocket. A slight frown clouded the nurse’s face as she noticed the time and the fact that Elsa hadn’t tried to text or call that she would be late.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon, until then I’ll bring over some coffee, decaf, and check up on you later.”

Maren watched Mattias flit about the diner, cooing at babies and taking great care to ensure his customers were happy; she was always surprised by the burly former general’s gentle demeanor. The two of them had discussed it in great detail one night many years ago as Maren nursed her third cup of coffee and she studied for finals. The soldier couldn’t say no to Halima and that was why he found himself playing host in the well-loved dive. The happiness the nurse felt as she watched Mattias faded as the minutes ticked by and was soon replaced by worry. 

She wasn’t worried that she had been stood up, she was worried that something had happened to Elsa. The brunette picked up her phone from where she had been staring at it on the table and selected Elsa’s contact. The call rang and rang and rang until it went to voicemail which was unusual. They had taken to calling one another over the weekend since they had both been busy and found it easy to get what they need to do done and idly chat with one another. Maren sighed as she thought through her options before she settled on calling Elsa’s office.

* * *

After the attempted data breach, Elsa spent her Friday finally finishing up the reports from when she had been out and had worked through the weekend to catch herself up. That meant she and Maren hadn't the opportunity to see one another and now it was Monday night. The CEO was trying to calmly sit through a meeting with her board who were attempting to force her to branch out into weapons manufacturing and development for what felt like the hundredth time. It was nearing 9:30 pm and Elsa and Maren had scheduled a date for 8 so she was over an hour late and her patience was thin.

“Ms. Andersen, I know you don’t fully understand -”

“Mr. Weasel,” Elsa said with calculated serenity as she messaged her temples.

“It’s Wesel!” the old man stood up and interjected. The movement drew the attention of the blonde who's normally soft blue eyes narrowed dangerously before she continued with a measured tone. 

“I believe the only reason you hold a seat on this board is due to the fact that I absorbed your failing company because I still needed your manufacturing capabilities. However, I do not need you and I will gladly release you from your duties if you do not stop broaching this topic. I have not ever and will not begin weapons manufacturing. I understand perfectly well that there is money to be made there but that is not what I intended to do when I took over this company,” she finished with an icy finality that left most of the other board members staring into their laps. 

“You can’t seriously -”

“Mr. Wesel, I suggest you choose your next words very carefully because I can and I will.”

The old man stayed silent but his rage was evident by the bright red blush that climbed up his neck and over his face. When Elsa was satisfied that no one else was going to say anything on the matter she spoke again.

“Now, if there’s nothing else we need to discuss we can all be on our way. Mrs. Hansen?”

“This meeting of the Board of Directors of Andersen Corp is adjourned.”

Elsa quickly gathered her belongings and signed the last few documents that needed to be signed before making a swift exit. As much as she wished Gerda would have gone home she was relieved to see her still sitting at her desk.

“Gerda, can you get me the data on Weasel’s shares, I want to go over my options. I could buy him out but that would take away the satisfaction of firing him. Oh, and here are the documents that R and D requested,” she continued as she placed them in the outgoing files basket with practiced ease, “I approved everything except for the A.I. integration; that’s not up to standards yet and I think we could work more on the new artificial vascular graft before it moves to stage 2 testing. Also, can you set up a meeting with the head of the design department for sometime next week there are a couple of things I want to change on the new -”

“Ms. Andersen, you have a guest,” Gerda said with a gentle smile before Elsa could get even more lost in the list she had compiled as she sat through presentations by her predominantly old, white, and male board members. 

Elsa’s head snapped up from her notes, “A guest?” she asked as she turned around to look where Gerda was indicating. Maren was sitting in the small waiting area outside of Elsa’s office reading a book with a to-go bag from Halima’s sitting on the end table next to her. Elsa melted a little. She figured Maren would understand but she hadn’t gotten the chance to text her that she wasn’t going to make it because the last thing she needed was for the board to think she was unprofessional for checking her phone.

“How long has she been here?” Elsa asked Gerda, trying to hide the worry in her voice as she gazed at the nurse. 

“Since around 9; she worked her way up through the web of call transfers until she got to me and had your sister call in so that she could get all the way up here. I have her number now so next time tell me you have a date so I can pull you out of there or let her know you’re stuck. She’s very nice, and was very worried about you. I like her.”

Warmth washed over Elsa. Gerda was the closest thing she had to a maternal figure so she was glad that Maren had her approval. 

“She is pretty great,” Elsa breathed out as she continued to stare at Maren like she couldn’t believe the other woman was actually there. It was becoming increasingly clear to her that Maren was too good for her. 

“Yes, anyone who’s not intimidated by you telling them to ‘fight me’ would have to be.”

Elsa’s eyes went wide and she turned her attention back to her assistant. 

“She didn’t.”

Gerda simply laughed in response before calmed herself and smugly said, “Think of it as payment for missing your date. Now give me that list and go see what she brought you for dinner.”

Elsa handed over the list and pointed out a few things that were less urgent than the others before making sure that Gerda would be heading home shortly. She took a deep breath before striding over and stopping in front of the nurse.

“Good book?”

Maren slid a bookmark between the pages and smiled up at Elsa. “It’s okay. Just getting started. Good meeting?”

“Nope.” Elsa replied as she grabbed both of the nurse’s hands and pulled her up from the chair and into a hug. Despite her height, Elsa managed to tuck her head into the crook of Maren’s neck as she sighed. Maren was content to hold her tight until Elsa felt better. After a moment, the blonde pulled back and took Maren by the hand to lead her to her office. 

Maren let go for a moment to quickly gather her book and the deli bag as she asked, “That bad, huh?” She grabbed Elsa's hand once more after tucking the book under her arm and allowed herself to be tugged in the direction of the office door.

“You have no idea.”

When Elsa opened her office door the brunette gasped and made a beeline for the vast windows that acted as the back wall of her office. Elsa had yet to tire of the pristine view of the skyline of Arendelle and the expanse of the fjord. Winter was her favorite time of year to gaze out the window but she was starting to think that anytime she took it in with Maren was going to surpass that.

“Pretty nice, right?” Elsa said as she followed the shorter woman.

“It’s beautiful. So much better than the views of the parking lot and the courtyard and the parking garage at the hospital as you've seen.”

Elsa shrugged as she stopped to stand by Maren. “I liked my view at the hospital.” 

The nurse scoffed and gently bumped Elsa’s shoulder with her own. “That was very cheesy.”

“Doesn’t make it less true,” Elsa retorted before she softened. “I’m sorry I missed our date. I should have called or texted.”

Maren turned so she was facing Elsa, “You didn’t miss it, we just had an unforeseen change of time and location,” she said as she raised the bag into Elsa’s sight line. “Plus, I know you’ll make it up to me next time.”

Elsa could only shake her head and chuckle as she motioned to the coffee table that sat in front of the well worn couch to their left.

“Okay, so…” Maren said as she set the bag down on the coffee table and began to empty it of its contents. “I didn’t know what you would like so I had to wing it - I got the basics: turkey, ham or BLT?”

“Turkey, please.”

Maren picked up the turkey sandwich and handed it to Elsa. 

“I boldly assumed you would have drinks here so I didn’t grab any,” she continued as she handed a few napkins to the other woman. “And we have a couple bags of chips because I figured fries would get cold.”

“Sorry,” Elsa said quietly as got up and crossed the room to the well hidden mini-fridge to grab two waters. 

The nurse could tell Elsa really meant it but she could also tell that the blonde was being harder on herself than necessary and Maren couldn’t let that happen. 

She quickly moved across the room to meet Elsa. She took the bottles from her and placed them on the expansive desk before taking Elsa’s hands into her own, “Hey,” she said as Elsa looked away from her. She waited a moment until the taller woman met her gaze. “I’m not upset; I wasn’t upset at all. I was a little worried that something had happened to you but otherwise I still get to have dinner with you and technically I still got to pick and pay.”

Maren was pleased that that pulled a small chuckle from the CEO even if it didn’t last long.

“I’m still -”

Elsa was silenced by Maren letting go of her hands and wrapping her arms around the blonde’s waist to pull her closer and into a kiss that was just as sweet as their first had been but wasn’t nearly long enough for Elsa’s liking. When they broke apart, Elsa tried to finish knowing full well she would be cut off again. Only the rumbling of the CEO’s stomach compelled Maren to break the kiss. 

“No more apologies,” the brunette said as she rested her forehead against Elsa’s, “Now, let’s enjoy this dinner before I’m the one who ends the date early by falling asleep.”

The blonde's lips pulled into a devious smirk, "I'm sorry..." she started before being interrupted by a more chaste kiss from Maren, "...about that too."

"Now you're just doing it on purpose," the nurse said with a giggle.

"Maybe," Elsa replied between her own giggles as she reached around Maren for the nearly forgotten water bottles. “Are you going to let go of me so we can get back to the food?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

The nurse hummed in contemplation before shaking her head no while taking a step backward and pulling Elsa with her, “I know you won’t let me fall.”

Elsa smiled as she guided Maren back to the couch and thought about the fact that she had already fallen.


	5. DIdn’t you know I’m the Ice Queen of Arendelle?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know, Kitty Cat, Maren is one of my favorite people too?” 
> 
> The CEO watched the tips of Maren's ears turn pink as she double checked the vitals on the screen next to the bed.
> 
> “She is?” the little girl asked, giving the nurse a scrutinizing look.
> 
> “Of course, she took care of me when I was sick.”
> 
> “Then you should marry her.” Cathrine stated matter of factly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this longer than I intended? Yes. Am I sorry? Nope. Do I know where this is going yet aside from happiness? Also nope.
> 
> Stay safe, friends!

“She’s coming! She’s coming! She’s coming!” a small voice called as a child sized blur raced down the hall of the pediatric wing of the hospital. Maren looked up from the nurses’ station to see the flash of a small body skid to a stop in the common room and swiftly take a seat front and center on the rug. The doors of several rooms burst open and the children that could safely leave their rooms excitedly joined the first on the rug.

A smile overtook Maren’s face; she didn’t work the pediatric floor often and had come in on her last day off because another nurse had gone home sick and they were stretched thin. She was always happy to help with the kids and go back to where she had started her career. It also didn’t hurt that she got to wear the fun scrubs that had been banished to the back of her closet instead of the standard solid gray she wore daily. 

The brunette turned back to her files and was midway through her notes when a cart piled high with brand new toys was wheeled by. The sight filled Maren with happiness; she hadn’t been on the floor for more than a few hours but even she could see how worn out the toys in the common room were from constant cleaning. When she finished her notes she made her way down to the cafeteria for her lunch break as she heard excited squeals from the kids when the head nurse told the children that their guest would arrive in five minutes. 

* * *

It was Elsa’s favorite day of the week - Thursday. She had missed the last two because of her stay in the hospital and playing catch up at her office but she was overjoyed to be back to her usual schedule. Her driver, Jonathan, dropped the CEO off at the back entrance of the hospital and helped Elsa load up a cart with the many toys she had promised the children. The communal toys were in poor shape and she had taken the time to get to know each child who was there for the foreseeable future and selected something she knew they would like to keep in their room.

The blonde briefly stopped to speak to the director of the hospital to ensure that they were still set for their meeting regarding the remodel and update to the children’s wing Elsa was sponsoring. Then she was off to her favorite “meeting” of the week. When she reached the pediatric wing, she was greeted by loud cheers and several little bodies that plowed into her legs as a way of greeting. A plethora of “get well” cards were occupying her usual seat along with two weeks worth of artwork intended for her. Elsa caught up with what had been happening with everyone and was pleased to see that most of the children were doing well and a few were to head back home soon. When the kids had ensured she knew everything they felt she needed to know about the last two weeks, they got down to business. 

She read to the little ones before making her way to the rooms of the children who were too weak to go to the common room or who were “too old for little kid stuff.” The CEO helped a couple of the older kids with their math and science homework and played or read to the younger patients who couldn’t make it out of their rooms. Her time at the hospital was winding down and there was only one room left for her to visit and she was worried about the child who resided there. 

Cathrine was five and had been a fighter since the very first day she had been dropped off at the hospital with nothing more than a small slip of paper with her first name on it three years ago. A few weeks ago, Cathrine had been responding well to treatments but she had suddenly taken a turn for the worse right when Elsa had gotten sick herself. 

The head nurse walked with her to the door and handed her a PPE suit and mask and motioned for her to scrub up. Cathrine’s immune system was weak and they normally wouldn’t have allowed anyone who didn’t work in the hospital to enter her room but Elsa was the only visitor the little girl had received since her arrival outside of hospital staff. 

“15 minutes, Ms. Andersen, then someone will come in to start her chemo treatment.” 

Elsa nodded and slipped into the room where her heart slowly cracked open at the sight of the small body with wires and tubes attached to it. A light blue beanie, knitted by Anna, adorned Cathrine’s head and sleepy green eyes lit up when she realized who had entered the room. 

“Elsa! You’re back! I missed you!” she cried excitedly as she sat up and reached out her arms for a hug. 

The CEO took a seat on the edge of the bed and carefully picked up the wisp of a child and settled her in her lap. Small arms attempted to encircle her waist and pulled as tight as they could.

“I am,” Elsa said softly, “I missed you too; sorry I was away for so long, Kitty Cat, but I got sick which means you could have gotten sicker and we can’t have that.” She finished as she playfully booped the little girl’s nose with her finger.

“S’okay,” Cathrine replied as she nuzzled deeper into the papery suit that covered Elsa’s clothing. The small amount of energy she had mustered upon seeing the blonde quickly fading away. “Will you stay with me so I’m not lonely?” she added shyly. 

“Of course,” Elsa answered gently. It was her least favorite thing to do but it brought the girl so much comfort that the blonde had somehow become accustomed to watching the energy drain out of Cathrine as the poison that was meant to cure her made her nauseated and sicker than when she started treatment. Elsa started to slowly rock the little girl back and forth as she hummed an old lullaby she remembered her mother used to sing when she was little.

* * *

Maren made her way to the room of her last patient of the day. The nurse heard the soft humming of the familiar lullaby and was confused by the sound since she knew that Cathrine didn’t have visitors because she had been abandoned outside the hospital a few years ago. Maren usually made a point to visit the small girl at least twice a week during her lunch breaks and had never run into another soul aside from the social worker during that time. She shrugged as she finished scrubbing up and pushed the door open to get little Cathrine ready for treatment. The burnette was stunned silent when familiar blue eyes stared daggers into her own, practically daring the nurse to make a noise loud enough to wake the child cradled to her chest.

If Maren hadn’t already fallen hard for Elsa, seeing her rub a soothing hand up and down the small girl’s back when she stirred a little would have done it. She was also astounded that Elsa made a paper gown and mask look like high fashion. The nurse stared for a moment, thankful that her own mask was covering her gaping mouth, then motioned to Cathrine’s left arm and Elsa repositioned herself on the bed so that Maren had easy access to the child’s picc line. The small motions woke the lightly sleeping girl who blinked for a second before she beamed at Maren.

“Maren, you’re here too! This is the best day ever,” she squealed as she wiggled into a more comfortable position in Elsa’s lap. 

“Oh really, why’s that?” Maren asked to distract her patient as she connected the IV line and started the treatment.

Cathrine’s face momentarily contorted in discomfort as the liquid began to course through her body but she soon happily answered the nurse’s question.

“Cause you and Elsa are here! It’s amazing. You’re both my favorite and now you’re both here and it makes me so happy!” she finished with a giggle as she started to play with Elsa’s hands.

The tiny child’s happiness was infectious and the two women soon found themselves smiling and chuckling along before Elsa leaned in to conspiratorially whisper in Cathrine’s ear. 

“You know, Kitty Cat, Maren is one of my favorite people too?” 

The CEO watched the tips of Maren's ears turn pink as she double checked the vitals on the screen next to the bed.

“She is?” the little girl asked, giving the nurse a scrutinizing look.

“Of course, she took care of me when I was sick.”

“Then you should marry her.” Cathrine stated matter of factly.

Maren had been poised to write out a few notes on the tiny patient’s chart but her pen went clattering to the floor and she turned beet red in the time it took for her to register that it was no longer in her hand. Elsa managed to stifle her laughter as she watched Maren duck down in search of her pen. When she was sure she wouldn’t laugh she asked Cathrine to explain how she came to that conclusion.

“When people get married they say in sickness and in help and since Maren helped you when you were sick and you like her it’s perfect,” she said as she finished with a yawn and snuggled back into the CEO.

“In sickness and in health,” Elsa gently corrected as she pulled the blankets over the tiny girl who had started to shiver. “And I guess that makes sense but I think I would have to get to know her better first.”

Maren who had regained her composure as she searched for her pen chimed in, “I believe a very wise woman once said ‘You can’t marry a man you just met,’ and that applies to women too, Cathrine.” When she was done with her notes she went to the bedside and ruffled the tiny girl’s beanie. “I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch okay? You’re my last patient today. Nurse Hilda will come check on you when you’re done.”

Cathrine smiled at up at Maren before she finally succumbed to the exhaustion she had been fighting and let her eyes slip closed. The nurse grabbed one of Elsa’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Have dinner with me tonight? I’ll wait for you in the lobby?”

“I’ll meet you there as soon as she’s done.”

* * *

Maren couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she watched Elsa get off the elevator and scan the lobby for her. When their eyes met, the blonde quickly zigzagged through the numerous people carrying balloons and flowers until she was in front of the nurse. 

“You ready to go?” 

The CEO nodded, “Yes, I just wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to drive me home so I can give Jon the rest of the night off. His daughter is in town and he doesn’t get to see her often so I like to give him extra time with her when I can.”

“Of course,” Maren replied as she shrugged her coat on as Elsa quickly fired off a text to her driver. “Now, I’m glad you’re wearing sensible shoes because I really want to take you to my favorite food truck in the park a couple of blo -”

“I thought it was my turn to pick,” the taller woman said interjected playfully. 

The brunette was quick on her feet as always and came up with the perfect reason as to why that wasn’t the case. “That would be for our next formally scheduled date which is Saturday night; this was a totally random occurrence and therefore the turn system doesn’t apply,” she finished with a smug smile.

Elsa rolled her eyes and grabbed Maren’s hand, entwining their fingers, “Well then, lead the way.”

The ten minute walk to the park passed quickly and once they were inside they slowed their pace to take in the scenery. Fall was coming to Arendelle and the trees were at their most beautiful; the leaves taking on hues of orange and yellow and the glow of the sunlight made them stand out even more against the gray clouds in the distance.

Much like their first date, they enjoyed their food but enjoyed each other’s company more; so much so that neither of them noticed that the clouds that had been on the horizon were now on top of them. A cold drizzle began to fall and the couple quickly threw their trash away and headed back toward the hospital. They had reached the sidewalk at the edge of the park when it began to pour; the water soaking both of them through. They slowed their pace a little when Elsa noticed Maren shivering so she could wrap an arm around the shorter woman’s waist.

“How are you so warm?” Maren asked as she looked at the CEO in wonder when they stopped under an awning for a break from being buffeted by the rain. 

“DIdn’t you know I’m the Ice Queen of Arendelle?”

The nurse was not amused in the slightest and gave the blonde what she hoped was a stern frown as she shook her head. She had previously seen the headlines about Elsa and her alleged icy persona but that was so far from the truth that it was clear to her the people writing those articles had never been in a room with the CEO. Maren’s silence prompted Elsa to try again.

“I don’t know,” Elsa replied as she shrugged. “The cold never really bothers me,” the blonde finished as she wrapped her other arm around the nurse’s waist and pulled her closer. Elsa wanted nothing more than to make out with Maren in the rain but the feel of the other woman’s shaking body and the sound of teeth chattering brought her focus back to the task at hand.

“How much farther to the car?”

Maren took in the buildings that surrounded them and let her head fall against Elsa’s chest; they had made it a total of two blocks which meant there were eight to go and there was no sign that the rain was going to let up anytime soon.

“Too far,” the shorter woman replied as she burrowed closer to Elsa. 

Elsa planted a kiss on the top of Maren’s head and pulled back a little as she removed one of her arms from the brunette’s waist and held out her hand.

“Keys please,” the blonde said as she wiggled her fingers.

“Elsa, you don’t even know which -”

“Honeymaren. I have a phD. I think I can figure out which car is yours if you tell me the general vicinity. So, keys please.”

Maren sighed but took the keys out of her jacket pocket and pressed them into Elsa’s palm, “It’s in the side lot toward the back left. Same make and model as Anna’s but white.”

Elsa nodded and pressed a quick kiss to the nurse’s lips before ducking her head against the rain and swiftly heading in the direction of the hospital. Maren wrapped her arms around herself and tried to think warm thoughts as she continued to shiver. She was pleasantly surprised when Elsa pulled up to the curb in under 10 minutes. The nurse didn’t bother letting the blonde get out and jogged to the car before yanking open the passenger door and sliding into the passenger seat. 

“Thank you,” she said between shivers. She stopped her teeth chattering long enough to lean over to give Elsa a kiss on the cheek and pointed in the direction they needed to go to get to her apartment without thinking. The CEO didn’t mind, she just wanted to get Maren warm as soon as possible. 

The trip was short and the nurse had only just begun to feel the heat from the vents when it was time to get out and face the stairs. By the time they reached her floor, Maren could feel her toes again and the blood flow from the exercise helped to clear the fog that had overtaken her mind because of the cold. Elsa for her part, was rambling about the pros and cons of donating a new elevator to Maren’s building.

“Elsa, it’s fine. I’m planning on moving somewhere nicer.” The nurse said as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. “I’ve lived here since I moved to Arendelle for school; it’s high time for an upgrade.”

“Still,” the blonde said as she followed Maren inside and slipped off her shoes and began the process of peeling off her wet outer layers, “I’m sure there are people in this building who struggle with the stairs. I mean, what do you do when you go grocery shopping? Or have to move something heavy? Or if there’s a medical emergency and a stretcher needs to be used? Or...Honeymaren where’d you go?”

The CEO looked around the apartment and didn’t see a trace of her _girlfriend?_ She’d been meaning to ask about that. Elsa didn’t want to walk too far because she was still dripping wet and felt bad enough about soaking the inside of Maren’s car.

“Just a sec!” Maren called from somewhere deep in the apartment. Elsa took in what little she could see as she waited for the brunette to return. 

The space was neat; the blonde could see a kitchen with a breakfast nook attached to the right side of the open concept space and a living room set up to the left. Everything from the way the pillows and blankets were arranged on the couch to the dishes on the dish rack felt homey. Pops of color accented both spaces well and pictures lined the small hall by the door on one side and a mirror sat above a table on which set a bowl for keys and a stack of mail to be gone through. It was all so _Maren_ that Elsa couldn’t help but smile. She was snapped out of her reverie by a towel being pressed into her hands.

“Here, I put some sweats in the bathroom for you. You can shower first.”

“No, Mare, you’re still shivering. You go first,” the CEO said as she started to dry her hair with the towel; her mouth set in a firm line and the look she used at work that left no room for argument. _The look_ almost didn’t have it’s intended effect but an intense shiver ripped through Maren’s body and the shorter woman quickly acquiesced.

“Fine, but you can’t just stand here. A little water won’t hurt the laminate in the kitchen and there are chairs at the bar. I won’t be long,” the nurse said as she guided Elsa to a seat. 

The blonde passed the time waiting for Maren by responding to emails on her phone then pulling up her schedule to see what the next month looked like. November was always the calm before the storm. December was a bear of a month between battling the board about the necessity of bonuses, the holiday gala and the birthday party that would inevitably be planned despite her yearly protestations that the money go to something more worthy. 

True to her word, Maren was quick and ushered Elsa into the bathroom before the blonde had the chance to look up from her phone. While the CEO hadn’t felt overly cold, she knew her hair and makeup were a mess so she was thankful to be able to have the opportunity to pull herself together. When she got out of the shower and pulled on the sweats the nurse set out for her and she immediately determined that she was not giving them back. They were the most comfortable pieces of clothing she had put on in years and the fact that the sweatshirt smelled like Maren was definitely not a factor. 

Elsa braided her hair before she made her way to the living room where the brunette was curled under a blanket with a cup of tea clasped in her hands and the tv quietly tuned into some cooking competition she had never heard of. 

“Still cold?” the blonde teased as she made her way around the couch and took a seat on the opposite end. The glare Maren attempted to give her didn’t hold any water and quickly disappeared when Elsa held her arms open in invitation. The brunette set down her tea and practically jumped to settle herself against Elsa. 

“What are we watching?” the CEO asked as she wrapped her arms around Maren and somehow managed to pull her closer. She could already feel her eyes growing heavy after just a few seconds but couldn’t bring herself to ask the nurse to drive her home just yet. 

“How about a movie so that next time we play charades with Anna and Kristoff you stand a chance and I don’t get mad that we lose?”

Elsa knew an opening when she saw one so she went for it, “You want there to be a next time?”

Maren sat up a little and angled herself so she could look in Elsa’s eyes, “Of course I do, if you do. I mean...I didn’t mean to assume anything I just thought since we had been seeing so much of each other that logically -”

The nurse was grateful that Elsa cut her off with a kiss because she had lost any semblance of where she was headed with that. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to keep the blonde in her life and continue doing what they were doing. When finally broke apart Maren was able to get out a semi-coherent sentence.

“I guess what I was trying to say is that I would really like it if we kept seeing each other...as in I don’t want to date anyone else and -”

“Honeymaren, breathe” Elsa interrupted with a smile so soft that it was almost too much for the brunette to take. “I would be more than happy to be your girlfriend, I just didn’t want to assume anything. Okay?”

“Okay,” Maren replied softly as she leaned in for another gentle kiss. Never in her life had anything come so easily. She knew there would be work they would have to do to make this last but for the first time in her life it didn’t seem daunting. 

Gentle kisses quickly became passionate and hands started to roam. Maren’s finding the soft skin just under the hem of the CEO’s borrowed sweatshirt as her lips began to make their way down Elsa’s jaw. She was almost to the blonde’s neck when a gently placed hand on Maren’s chest put space between them.

“I believe you promised me a movie.”

The nurse read between the lines; _not yet._ The brunette gave her one last chaste kiss in understanding, “I did. I propose we start with a classic,” Maren said as she scrolled through her collection at lightning speed and tapped play before Elsa had the chance to read the title. 

Elsa knew she was going to fall asleep the minute bright yellow text screamed EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE into her retinas. The blonde had lost count of the number of times Kristoff, Anna and Ryder had tried and failed to get her to make it through the film. It wasn’t that she found films boring. Quite the opposite, actually. It was something about staying completely still and having her brain do absolutely nothing made her fall asleep no matter how interested she was. And now, she was snuggly tucked between her girlfriend and the back of the couch with a blanket draped over them and Maren filling every one of her senses. It was unfair, really.

The CEO was out like a light in under ten minutes. Maren didn’t notice until halfway through the movie, though. She had seen the film more than enough times so she was perfectly fine with stopping it but when she reached for the remote a surprisingly strong arm held her in place. The nurse’s mind flashed back to two weeks ago when she and Anna had to keep waking Elsa up to get her home and she realized that this was probably going to be a painful process. 

“Elsa, sweetheart, I need you to wake up so I can get you home.”

Much like her previous experience, she listened to the blonde grumble and tilt her head away from the noise that was bothering her. Seeing as that didn’t work she tried to move to get up again but was swiftly pulled flush to Elsa’s body as the other woman sleepily whined no. Maren laid still for a moment debating what to do. There was nothing wrong with Elsa staying the night but there was a list of unknowns such as what time the CEO needed to be up so she could go home and change before work and, slightly more pressing, how was Maren going to get Elsa from the couch to the bed because there was no way she was going to let Elsa hurt her back by spending a night on her worn out sofa.

The nurse decided to ask Elsa to move, afterall it appeared that Elsa could hear her perfectly fine; she just didn’t want to have to be awake for an extended period of time. 

“What if we just move to the bed so you can keep sleeping?” Maren asked gently.

Blue eyes cracked open a fraction as the brunette felt the grip on her body loosen. _Progress._ Maren extricated herself from Elsa and went about most of her nightly routine before digging through her medicine cabinet to find the blonde a toothbrush. Once she was sure she had set out everything Elsa might need, and had finished up herself, she went back to the couch to wake her sleeping girlfriend.

“Okay, E, time to brush your teeth and go to bed.” 

Maren couldn’t help but laugh as the blonde stood up with a look on her face that made it appear that the world had caused her great offense. While Elsa brushed her teeth and washed her face, the nurse searched her living room until she found her spare charger and grabbed Elsa’s phone from the counter to make sure it got charged. When the brunette reached her bedroom she came face to face with a very grouchy CEO sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for her. 

Maren plugged Elsa’s phone in next to hers before lifting the blankets and motioning for Elsa to slip in. The nurse turned off the bedside lamp and laid down next to Elsa who quickly wrapped herself around Maren as she whispered, “Goodnight, Honeymaren," and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek before drifting back off.


	6. The Problem Was Her Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If we keep this up the food will get cold and there’s nothing worse than reheated alfredo,” Elsa said as she leaned her forehead against the brunette’s.
> 
> “You.” Kiss. “Made.” Kiss. “My.” Kiss. Favorite.” 
> 
> The blonde laughed and escaped Maren’s grasp to head into the kitchen and prepare their plates, “Of course. I’m sure you were stressed all day after I texted you so I wanted to make it up to you.”
> 
> The nurse tried to play it off, “Stressed? Me? Pfffftttt…no.”
> 
> Elsa raised an eyebrow and Maren immediately changed her tune, “Okay, maybe a little,” the blonde walked by and set their plates on the table and the nurse practically teleported to her seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have taken a bit of a serious turn but not in a bad way. I tried to add bits of fluff and humor but we are at the point where certain conversations needed to be had and will be back to our regularly scheduled programming with the next chapter. I hope you like the change of pace.
> 
> Also this is hella long...my bad but I couldn't bring myself to separate it out.
> 
> Small warning - depictions of violence towards the end. If that's not your jam, skip over the Elsa lying awake part.

Anna watched as her sister paced the length of the living room from her spot on the couch; the blonde was wringing her hands and nervously espousing all of the reasons she shouldn’t, no couldn’t do it. Nothing she was saying remotely resembled the actual reason and the younger woman knew that but she hadn’t seen her sister this worked up and anxious since Hans. Actually, she had seen more emotion out of her sister in the past two months than she had in the past three years but this wasn’t the kind of emotion she wanted to see. 

“Elsa, you’re asking her to attend Andersen Corp’s holiday fundraising gala not proposing marriage. Also, you know you’ll say yes; she’s never said no to going on a date with you,” the younger woman tried to soothe. “And you need to calm down because she’ll be here for game night in like 15 minutes and you’re a hot mess right now.”

The blonde looked at her younger sister and huffed, “Anna, you know how these things go and I’m only asking her instead of just bringing you like usual because you decided to abandon me for no reason and I don’t want to go by myself.”

Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes, “I did not abandon you and I have a reason. Kristoff and I are trying for a baby and I’ll be ovu -”

“NO. NO. NOPE. I do not want or need to hear about my baby sister’s sex life even if its for the purposes of gifting me a small human to play with,” the CEO finished with a shudder. “I’m not telling you about mine so I don’t want to hear about yours.”

“That’s only because you and Maren haven’t -”

“You and Maren haven’t what yet?” Ryder asked as he waltzed into the living room and plopped down onto the couch.

“Nothing.” The sisters replied in unison; both a little red in the face at having been interrupted. The two women eyed each other for a moment before wordlessly moving the conversation upstairs and out of Ryder’s earshot.

_ “Anyway…” _ Anna continued as she took a seat on the edge of her bed and patted the spot beside her, “Just ask her like a normal person.” 

Elsa scrunched up her face and shook her head at Anna’s invitation. She had no plans to sit on her sister’s bed anytime in the near future. Instead, she resumed her pacing from earlier. 

“I just...I don’t want her to think she has to come; I know we’ve been together for nearly two months but this is huge. Like her picture will be in the news huge and her privacy will more than likely be invaded and I don’t want that to scare her away. You and I were born into it and she has a choice. What if it’s a deal breaker?” the blonde finished softly.

The red head was surprised by her sister’s words. Before Hans, Elsa had been cautious of who she had dated; it hadn’t helped that she was so much younger than most of her academic peers but miles ahead of people her own age. Post Hans, Elsa was rather cavalier about dating. If one could call it dating. She didn’t go out often and when she did the blonde didn’t let anyone  _ emotionally _ close to her. Now, her sister was actually trying and was genuinely happy but also full of worry about how Maren would feel when the nurse realized what being with Elsa would fully entail.

“You’re really serious about her, aren’t you? Is that why you’re so nervous and taking everything so slowly because, and no offense but, lately you…”

Elsa tilted her head as she quirked an eyebrow at the shorter woman before listing off reasons she had been given as to why her most recent dates hadn’t been successful, “Sit there like a statue? Have the personality of a grape? Have a one night stand with a woman from your office?”

Anna grimaced, “That is...That’s one way to put it and you’re right no more sex life talk.”

“To answer your question, yes. I really, really like her and I don’t want to do what I’ve been doing anymore. Maren...she’s someone I can actually trust and I think I might be on the verge of...”

The red head’s eyes grew to the size of saucers, “Okay, so maybe lay most of that out for her and then she can make an informed decision.”

“When you say most -”

“I think it’s time that you tell her what happened. I mean, what better way to show her that you trust her?”

“You’d be okay with that? It’s your story too, Anna.”

“Elsa, I think I can confidently say that Maren seems to be in it for the long haul. So she has a right to know...I mean she’s stuck around this long and you haven’t even given up the goods yet.” 

Elsa laughed at her younger sister before pulling her up from the bed and into a hug. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge like always,” she said into the shorter woman’s hair. “What would I do without you?”

Anna could feel the tension leaving her sister’s body so she held her tighter. After a moment the red head let go of her sister and headed out the door and down the stairs. Elsa followed a few steps behind her. 

“You’ll always have me but you would probably be more of a disaster than you are now. I don’t know how Maren hasn’t caught on to all of your monumental freakouts yet. Like after you were so exhausted you kissed her, or when you were stuck in a meeting and then she brought you dinner so you started to think she was too good for you, or after you were so exhausted you stayed the night at her place the first time, oooh there was also that time -”

The younger woman heard Elsa groan behind her, “Enough, I get it and I’m never telling you anything again.”

“Yes you will because otherwise,” Anna paused before drastically increasing her volume so that everyone else in the house could hear, “You’d have to explain to Maren -”

Anna shrieked when she heard Elsa’s footsteps quicken their pace behind her and the redhead sprinted toward the living room to get away from her sister who was hot on her tail. The younger woman was scooped up by her husband who admonished both sisters for running in the house. 

“You,” he said as he pointed at Anna after setting her down, “I expect this kind of thing from you. But you,” he said, turning his finger to Elsa, “are older and know better,” he finished as Sven barked in agreement.

The CEO rolled her eyes and was about to deliver a biting retort but the words died on her lips when arms slid around her waist and soft lips pressed behind her ear causing her to melt into the body behind her. “What did you do?” Maren whispered.

“Anna started it,” Elsa mumbled as she turned in her girlfriend’s arms to greet her properly.

“I did not.”

“Did to and you know it,” the blonde retorted as she tried to escape Maren’s grasp but was firmly held in place by arms that were used to reacting to unexpected movements. 

“I believe Kristoff just told you no running in the house,” Maren said with a smirk before leaning forward and capturing the blonde’s lips with her own. 

* * *

Maren stared at her phone. The text message she just received could be interpreted a number of ways and her brain had automatically jumped to the worst possible conclusion even though her girlfriend had clearly stated that it wasn’t a bad thing. The brunette reread the message for what she was sure was the thousandth time as she sipped her coffee, trying to discern some deeper meaning and coming up empty.

**_Elsa_** 💙 ** _(10:58 am): Come over tonight after work? I know we didn’t have plans but I need to talk to you about something; well really talk to you and ask you something, nothing bad but it's big._**

The nurse had grown used to Elsa’s formal and rather matter of fact style of texting but her girlfriend might as well have said  _ we need to talk _ based on the uptick of Maren’s heartbeat. She typed a quick “of course ☺️” and hit send even though she felt like her heart was in her throat. Her anxiousness was exacerbated when she realized that she had never actually been in Elsa’s apartment. The brunette had dropped off and picked up the CEO many times but had never so much as set foot in the lobby and only ever waved to Hank from a distance. They usually hung out at Maren’s on Thursdays and Elsa would occasionally fall asleep and stay the night. Her phone buzzed and the new message made the evening seem all the more daunting.

**_Elsa_ 💙 _(11:07 am): Hank will let you in, show you which elevator to use and give you your security code so you can access my floor._**

**_(11:07 am): sounds good!_ **

It did not sound good. Maren finished up her notes and then completed the rest of her sift in a bit of a daze. When she got off work, she made the quick drive home where she showered, changed and packed a bag just in case since she had to work the next morning and didn’t want to have to drive by the hospital before heading in to work and then made the twenty minute drive to Elsa’s building. 

When she pulled into the parking garage, she was immediately redirected to a spot next to the CEO’s car and nearly didn’t have time to grab her bag before being sent on her way to Hank who greeted her with a warm smile. 

“Ms. Nattura, it’s so nice to finally meet you up close!” the older gentleman said as he pulled her into an unexpected hug. When he pulled back her looked her in the eyes before adding, “Thank you for making my girl so happy. I never thought...after…” he shook his head before seeming to get his thoughts in order. “I’m just so glad she’s happy again.”

The nervousness Maren had been feeling subsided a little as the doorman opened the lobby doors and motioned for the nurse to follow him. He continued to talk as they walked.

“This way, my dear, come meet Thor,” Hank said as they stopped in front of the security desk in the center of the nondescript lobby. “Thor, this is Ms. Nattura.”

The security guard eyed the brunette skeptically for a moment before he dropped his facade and beamed at her. “So you’re the one who’s brought the singing back? Thank you.”

“Nice to meet you, Thor,” the nurse smiled as she shook the man’s hand. Meanwhile all she could think about was  _ happy again and singing? _ And how much these two gentlemen cared for her girlfriend.

“Likewise, Ms. Nattura,” Thor smiled as he looked over at his computer screen when it pinged. He let out a soft chuckle as he turned his attention back to Hank and Maren. “Big Boss says stop holding her hostage. Better get a move on, boss.”

Hank laughed and Maren could only look on in confusion as to what that could mean. The doorman once again motioned for Maren to follow him and seeing the confusion on the young woman’s face he filled her in as they walked.

“Really, I'm the head of security of the building, Ms. Andersen actually promoted me to it when she bought the building. But I love being the doorman too much to give it up full time so she lets me have my fun. Ahh, here we are,” he said as he gestured to an elevator in the corner of the lobby. Hank turned to face her and his expression grew serious. 

“This elevator only stops on one floor and will not move without a security code. You must wait until the doors close before typing in your code. If you type in the wrong code, the doors will remain shut, the elevator will remain stationary and you will have to wait for whoever is working security to let you out. Your security code is 46639. Memorize it; do not write it down. Again, that’s 46639. It will change every three months. You will be able to set the next one if you so choose or a new one can be generated for you. Anna has her own and so does Kristoff so there is no reason they should ask you for yours. Do not tell anyone, under any circumstances, what your code is. Do you understand?”

Maren nodded wide-eyed, “46639. Got it.”

Hank relaxed a bit before hitting the button to call the elevator. “Good. I don’t mean to scare you but we take Ms. Andersen’s security very seriously. There was an...incident a few years ago.”

The nurse nodded once again; she was vaguely aware that  _ something _ had transpired in Elsa’s past but had never pressed the issue when it came up. A soft ding sounded and the elevator doors slid open. 

“This is where we part, Ms. Nattura. Remember the code goes in after the doors close,” he said with a reassuring smile before he turned and walked back toward the security desk in the lobby. 

Maren watched the doors slide closed and waited a few seconds before punching in her code on the keypad. She tried and failed to bite back the smile that broke across her face when she realized that the digits actually spelled out H-O-N-E-Y.

* * *

Elsa had somehow managed to get off work early.  _ Somehow _ really just meant that once she sent Maren the text inviting her over that night her productivity went out the window and all she could do was worry about her girlfriend’s reaction to both the invitation and the ramifications of attending an event of this magnitude. So far, they had made it two months into their relationship with the CEO working her magic to keep any and all pictures of the nurse out of the press; it had been a simple task, really. 

Whenever the blonde saw a photographer tailing them she would call around to see which publication they worked for and offer them some sort of exclusive regarding a new development or initiative from Andersen Corp in exchange for the pictures being buried. She wasn’t ashamed of her relationship or being out; she just wanted more time in the bubble of just Maren and Elsa - the world didn’t have a right to her private life, or Maren’s, no matter how hard it tried to dig into it. But the blonde could only do so much. She actually hadn’t even told the brunette about her  _ problem solving, _ yes, problem solving yet. 

Now she had a new problem to solve: what to do with her time until Maren arrived? The CEO had already cleaned the penthouse top to bottom. She had triple checked to make sure she had a toothbrush on hand for her girlfriend and the face wash she used in case she stayed the night. Elsa had changed twice and attempted to read a book before picking up the quarterly reports out of her briefcase and staring blankly at them for an hour but it was still only 4:00. Maren didn’t get off until 6:00 which meant she wouldn’t arrive until around 7:00 and the blonde did need to cook dinner but that could wait. 

She finally settled on going to her home lab to work on her nano-tech project. The blonde was thankful the microscopic circuit boards required such focused attention so time passed quickly and before she knew it her 5:30 alarm indicating that she should start cooking went off. When she entered the kitchen, she flicked on the monitor that sat on the corner of the island so she would be able to see when Maren arrived and got to work on their pasta for dinner. 

The CEO worked efficiently, as she did with all things but always had an eye on the security feed especially as the clock on the wall moved nearer to 7:00. She finally saw Maren enter the lobby and a small bit of relief washed over her. She quickly chopped the steaming broccoli and dropped the handmade pasta in the water before flipping the chicken and double checking the cream sauce. A few minutes passed and she hadn’t heard the sound of the elevator so she checked the feed and saw the nurse standing at the desk in the lobby talking with both Hank and Thor. Normally, she wouldn’t mind Hank and Thor getting to know Maren a little but she wanted to get these conversations out of the way so she whipped out her phone and sent a quick, but light-hearted message to the desktop downstairs and watched as Thor said a quick goodbye to her girlfriend.

Another few minutes passed before she heard the sound of the elevator car retreating then slowly returning. Elsa removed the pasta from the water and put it in a pan, adding the cream sauce to allow the pasta to finish cooking and absorb the flavor. She sprinkled in the broccoli and chopped the chicken before tossing the food in the pan to make sure everything was evenly coated and mixed. 

The soft ding of the elevator spurred her towards her front door; she didn’t want to leave Maren waiting in the tiny foyer too long and before she knew it she was wrapped in an embrace she was becoming confident she couldn’t live without. 

* * *

The rather large lab was just about the only thing about Elsa’s home that surprised the brunette. Otherwise she was completely unsurprised by the space. She had never been in a penthouse and never thought she would be. Every time she had ever glimpsed one, be it on tv, in a magazine or movie, they seemed to be large and cold spaces; but Elsa’s, was anything but cold. There were touches of hominess everywhere. 

Photos of Anna, Kristoff and even Sven adorned the walls of the small entryway where Elsa quickly grabbed her coat from her and hung it in the closet. Knitted and crocheted blankets from Anna dotted the backs of the furniture in the large living room. An expansive bookshelf, crammed full of books and scientific journals, took up the entire wall opposite the floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto a tastefully decorated balcony. A fireplace emitted both heat and soft light into the room. 

The kitchen looked like it was actually used; in fact the smells that were currently emanating from it were heavenly. Artwork from the children at the hospital adorned the refrigerator and the get well cards were displayed atop the upper kitchen cabinets. This was the Elsa she knew. The space was so different from her office which was sparsely decorated and contained one personal touch - a picture of Anna on her wedding day that sat on her desk under the monitor so no one else could see it. 

As Maren took in the space her ankles were circled by the two bouncers of the CEO’s life (Anna’s words). Olaf, who was more friendly than little Bruni, immediately tried to climb the nurse like a tree and was not satisfied until he was secure in her arms with constant pats; he was a welcome distraction from the nerves that had slowly started to return. Meanwhile, Bruni sniffed around Maren and seemed rather unimpressed before sauntering over to the fireplace and curling up on the bed that had been set in front of it. The brunette found her girlfriend setting the table in the dining room that was offset from the kitchen. 

“Need any help?” she asked.

Elsa looked up from the table and laughed when she saw Olaf snuggly laid out in Maren’s arms, the nurse’s black sweater now covered in the cat’s white fur. She shook her head as her laughter tapered off, “I think you might need help. You’ve fallen into his trap, he likes warm hugs - Anna’s words not mine. I promise I haven’t lost it,” The blonde finished as walked across the room to where her girlfriend was standing and scooped up Olaf and gently placed him on the floor. The cat looked up at Elsa in annoyance before joining his brother in the other room. 

“Well, if you don’t need help, please tell me our delicious smelling dinner is almost ready.”

The CEO hummed noncommittally and wrapped her arms around the other woman’s waist and pulled her close. Any remaining nerves Maren was feeling melted away with the gentle press of Elsa’s lips to her own. Whatever her girlfriend needed to talk to her about, they would get through together. She could feel it in her bones, just as she had felt that Elsa was going to be her last first kiss two months ago outside of the very building she was now standing in. The nurse felt herself getting lost in the kiss and deepening it; she chased Elsa’s lips when she pulled away. 

“If we keep this up the food will get cold and there’s nothing worse than reheated alfredo,” Elsa said as she leaned her forehead against the brunette’s.

“You.” Kiss. “Made.” Kiss. “My.” Kiss. Favorite.” 

The blonde laughed and escaped Maren’s grasp to head into the kitchen and prepare their plates, “Of course. I’m sure you were stressed all day after I texted you so I wanted to make it up to you.”

The nurse tried to play it off, “Stressed? Me? Pfffftttt…no.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow and Maren immediately changed her tune, “Okay, maybe a little,” the blonde walked by and set their plates on the table and the nurse practically teleported to her seat. “If this is what I get when you stress me out, you can do it every day she said as she picked up her fork.”

The CEO let out a soft chuckle and rolled her eyes,”You haven’t even tasted it yet.” 

* * *

Elsa stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. She was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted but she couldn’t fall asleep. Even with the increasingly familiar weight of her girlfriend pressed into her side and the warmth that enveloped her mind and body the sleep that usually came hard and fast was avoiding her. The CEO thought back over the evening, hoping that organizing her thoughts would lull her wired brain into the first stage of the sleep cycle.

The conversation that Elsa had worried about for over a week went much differently than Elsa had expected. They had settled at the table for dinner and after laying out the possibility of Maren losing some of her privacy if she wanted to attend the gala as Elsa’s date, the nurse merely shrugged as she sipped her water. The CEO was speechless for a moment before regaining control over her mouth.

“That’s it?” she asked incredulously. 

Maren tilted her head and gave Elsa a soft smile but a small furrow in her brow gave away some of her confusion. 

“E, if you asked me to go on a date to the moon I would blindly trust that you would provide me with the necessary equipment. I know you’ll do the best you can to protect me - even though I don’t need it. I mean, I’ve seen the photographers who’ve followed us on dates but I have never seen my picture in a gossip column...not that I care but Ryder keeps me updated. I trust you and I know everything will be alright. I would never want to miss out on something important to you.”

The blonde stared at her girlfriend, mouth agape. Just like everything else in their relationship had been, it was that easy. She blinked her surprise away and realized that no one else could make her off balance so easily that it left her speechless twice in under five minutes. 

“Okay, but promise me you’ll tell me if it’s too much.”

Maren reached across the table and grabbed Elsa’s hand. “I promise.”

The rest of their dinner had passed pleasantly but Elsa could feel dread and anxiety building up inside of her. So much so that she washed the same dish three times before Maren pried it from her hands to dry it off. It progressively got worse and she began to pace the length of the living room rather than curling up on the couch with her girlfriend like usual. Maren had sat silent and still and waited patiently for her girlfriend to speak. Once the blonde got started there was no stopping her until the brunette had stood up and taken Elsa into her arms. She hadn’t even noticed she was crying until a sob tore through her throat and her knees buckled.

That was the true reason she couldn’t sleep; the reason she didn’t sleep most nights - Hans. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel safe. She knew she was physically safe. Hans was rotting in prison, Hank and the rest of her security team made sure no one unapproved came in or out of the building, Anna had Kristoff and Sven and the state of the art security system Elsa had designed and installed herself. 

The problem was her memory. Most nights when she closed her eyes the events from that fateful day three years ago replayed and that was what was happening now. She could feel the cold metal clamped too tightly around her wrists and the ringing in her ears and the pounding in her head as it hit the hard floor. The sound of Anna’s pleading voice with him and the sound of a fist meeting flesh then silence followed by the worst sound she had ever heard; her little sister gasping for breath as hands closed around her throat. The glint of light shining off of the broken glass of the window was the only thing that saved her sister’s life; she had the scar on her palm to prove it. But this time...it wasn’t enough. His grip seemed to tighten and Elsa watched in horror as the color bled from her sister’s face. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t how it happened.

* * *

Maren woke up to an empty bed. She was cold and it was still dark and she felt around the nightstand until she found one of their phones.  _ 3:27 am. _ She strained her hearing to see if her girlfriend was just in the en suite bathroom but the silence that met her ears was indication enough that she had left the bedroom. Shivering without her personal heater, she grabbed the extra blanket that sat on the bench at the end of the bed and wrapped it around herself. 

The faint glow of the lab told her where to go and she stopped in the doorway and watched Elsa work for a moment. The blonde was hunched over a microscope and furiously scribbling notes into a notebook. She rapidly changed slides and settings, barely pausing for breath and muttered something Maren knew she would never understand even if she could hear it under her breath. When Elsa frowned and pulled away from the eyepiece, the nurse made herself known. 

“E?”

The blonde’s head snapped up and wide blue eyes met sleepy brown ones. Elsa got up from her seat and quickly crossed the room to Maren. “What are you doing up? You have to work tomorrow.”

“Today. I have to work today,” Maren said as she opened her arms in invitation. “Come back to sleep. It’s late.”

Elsa worried her bottom lip between her teeth before shaking her head. “I have to finish; I’ve almost cracked the…”

The brunette stopped listening to the words coming out of her girlfriend’s mouth and instead took in her body language. It didn’t take her long to figure it out. Maren had managed to fall asleep before Elsa for once, a feat in and of itself, and yes, Elsa was usually up before her but this was not normal. One look at the CEO’s tired but fear filled eyes told her everything she needed to know. 

“You had a nightmare,” she said softly, interrupting the word vomit about some nano-tech something that Elsa was spewing. 

The taller woman turned her gaze so that it was focused on anything that wasn’t Maren. The nurse closed the distance between them and enveloped Elsa in her arms and the blanket. She tucked herself under Elsa’s chin and held on until she felt the blonde relax before whispering, “Please, I was cold.”

Soft lips pressed a gentle kiss to her hairline, “Give me five minutes to put this stuff away,” the blonde said as she pulled away. Ever skeptical, Maren remained parked in the doorway and watched as her girlfriend flitted to and fro. Finally turning out the lights a full ten minutes later because she got distracted by something she had written and insisted that she needed to expand upon it. A well-timed yawn from the nurse had brought the blonde’s pen to a halt and she was swiftly guided back to the bed where she wrapped herself around Elsa.

“Wake me up next time, please?” the brunette whispered into the dark.

“Honeymaren, you need your sleep. You don’t need to deal with me freaking out about the past at 2 am.”

“And you don’t need to deal with this alone anymore, Elsa. I know you said you go to therapy and that it’s helped greatly but as long as I’m here I want to help too. Even if that means we go sit on the couch and watch infomercials until you feel better, okay?”

Elsa rolled over and reached up to cup Maren’s cheek. She rubbed gentle circles with her thumb just under the nurse’s eye and watched as Maren’s eyes slipped closed. The brunette was undeterred even though she could feel herself slipping away. 

“Okay?”

The blonde leaned in and kissed her lips.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be patient with the next update! I have finally wrapped my head around the next chapter of my Word of the Day Korrasami Soulmate AU fic so I will be working on that next but I will be back!
> 
> Also, yes - Elsa cut a bitch to save Anna.


	7. Has That Always Been There?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maren finds out more about her girlfriend through some very well placed tattoos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hiiiiii...I'm back early. I got about halfway through my chap for my other fic and was struck with this and I had to get it out. Have no fear, if you are a fan of that one I hope to have it up by the end of this week if it is ready!

The first time Maren saw it, she thought she was seeing things, it had to be a trick of the light or a smudge from something Elsa had been working on or possibly a bruise. She didn't think about it any further and continued to get ready for bed. The second time, she was slightly concerned. They were curled up together on Maren’s couch; the tv at a low volume as Elsa read through a report she had managed to convince the nurse she _had to read_ before they were going to attempt to watch the next movie on their list. 

In the low light of the room, Maren grew increasingly concerned that something had happened to her girlfriend’s wrist so she reached out and caught the taller woman’s arm as she twirled her hair around her finger and turned it in her hand so she could inspect it closely and ensure her girlfriend was okay. The brunette hadn’t been seeing things after all. There, clear as day were two tiny stick figures wearing dresses, stick arms joined as though they were holding hands. Maren gently rubbed her thumb over the small tattoo as Elsa laughed at the expression of bewilderment on the nurse’s face. 

“What?”

“I...has that always been there?”

Elsa nodded and turned her attention back to the report but the nurse wasn’t satisfied with just a nod though. 

“Like that's been there the whole time?”

The CEO hummed in acknowledgement but continued to read and quickly crossed something out before making a note and finally turning her attention back to her girlfriend. 

“Well, I wasn’t born with it, so no it hasn’t been there _the whole time.”_

Maren pouted, “You know what I mean.”

“Anna and I got them shortly after…” she trailed off knowing the brunette would understand the implication. “Anna’s is on her left wrist though.”

“I never pegged you as the type to have a tattoo.”

The blonde shrugged, “Anna wanted to get one together and it was tiny so no one really knows it's there.”

“Ryder was too scared to get one with me even if it is tradition.”

Elsa reached over and traced the symbols on her girlfriend’s forearm, saying the meanings as she touched each one.

“Bold. Brave. Helpful. Kind.”

“You can read them?” Maren asked with surprise. 

The blonde nodded and her expression turned wistful, “It’s not a skill I get to use often but...my mother grew up Northuldra until she was 12. Then she was adopted and moved here. She made sure Anna and I had the opportunity to learn about all of where we came from.”

The nurse thought for a moment; this was the first time Elsa had mentioned either of her parents. Maren knew, of course. Everyone knew. In fact, anyone could find footage of the fiery crash and wreckage and listen to the black box recording if they did a simple search online. She would have had to have been living under a rock to not have heard about how Agnar and Iduna Andersen died suddenly, leaving the responsibility of Andersen Corp to their 18 and 15 year old daughters. But she had no idea that Elsa’s mother was Northuldra or an orphan for that matter.

She scooched over and pulled Elsa close to her, “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

* * *

After her initial shock at seeing the tattoo of the two stick figures, she wondered how she hadn’t noticed it before. Outside of the office, Elsa rarely wore her watch and, while it was winter, almost always had her sleeves rolled up. It seemed that the blonde was full of surprises though. Eight character surprises to be exact. 

Maren had finally found a new place and Ryder, Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa were helping her carry her boxes down the five flights of stairs. Her girlfriend grumbled about how she could have donated an elevator to the building three months earlier. The nurse noticed it when they were taking a break. Ryder and Kirstoff were taking the first load of boxes to her new place and unloading them and Anna was out picking up lunch for everyone. Elsa, meanwhile, had dug through a box until she found a t-shirt of Maren’s and threw it on, rolling up the already short sleeves. 

“It’s so hot,” the CEO complained and she started to gather her hair to put it in a ponytail. 

“Squish, it’s Decem-”

The nurse knew she could be seeing things but the motion of Elsa’s arm as she tied up her hair prevented her eyes from focusing. She quickly crossed the room and waited for her girlfriend to finish what she was doing before gently taking the blonde’s arm and extending it so she could see the inside of her left bicep. _‘Let it go.’_ was inked on the pale skin in a neat, typewriter-like font. 

Elsa looked at her girlfriend with innocent blue eyes, as if to dare Maren to ask. They remained locked in a silent battle of wills, waiting on the other to crack first and after a few moments the nurse couldn’t take it. She asked what it meant as gentle fingers traced each word and was thankful when the CEO didn’t opt for sarcasm like she had last time. 

“I was eight the first time my father sat me down," she started quietly, “I had gotten in a fight at school. Some kid in my grade had pushed Anna on the playground and she fell and busted her chin open on the stairs; she actually had to get stitches. Anyway, he sat me down and told me ‘Elsa, you are an Andersen, you cannot let your emotions control your actions. Anger and fear have no place in business and since you will one day take over for me, you need to learn this now.’ Then he took both of my hands in his and told me to repeat after him, ‘Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let it show.’ So, that’s what I did. My parents gave me my own room, I tested into high school and after that I practically cut Anna out of my life even though we lived in the same house. He told me again when I was 13 and starting college and when I was 16 and starting to work at Andersen Corp in the labs. Even after he died...especially after he died and I had to slowly take the reins, I told myself that everyday; everyday until the day after Hans’s sentencing.”

Elsa paused for a moment and Maren could see tears pricking the corners of her eyes. The blonde let out a sigh before she continued.

“After that, I decided that my happiness and the happiness of my sister were more important than whether or not some old white man thinks it’s my time of the month or that I’m too emotional to lead the company. God, my therapist would be so proud that those words just came out of my mouth,” she said as she chuckled. “Let it go, to me, is the opposite of what was ingrained in me as a child.”

A few tears escaped the CEO’s eyes and Maren was quick to wipe them away with the pads of her thumbs. The nurse stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Elsa’s forehead then her nose and finally her lips before wrapping her in a hug. They stood like that for a while before Anna returned and upon seeing them threw the takeout bags on the counter and joined the embrace.

“What are we doing?” Anna whispered. 

“Feeling happy,” Elsa whispered back as she adjusted one of her arms to pull Anna closer. 

“Cool. I like to feel happy,” she giggled, sufficiently bursting the serene bubble her sister and Maren had built. “But cold takeout would make me unhappy so...let’s eat before the boys get back and take more than their share.”

* * *

Maren would never admit it but surprises three and four really sent her for a loop. She couldn’t say how she ended up in a private Bikram Yoga class - well, she knew. Elsa had asked her if she wanted to tag along one day and she could never say no to spending time with her girlfriend. The nurse was surprised that this was the form of exercise the CEO partook in since, from her rather limited experience of dealing with Elsa in the late fall and winter months, she didn’t like the heat, or to be hot. 

But she met her girlfriend at the appointed time and place and her jaw nearly hit the floor when Elsa walked in the room. Peeking out, just below the hem of a light blue crop top and the top of a pair of high waisted leggings was the smallest glimpse of looping script. Her girlfriend merely smirked as she walked up to her and a cool hand slid under her chin and lifted her jaw closed. One thought immediately flooded her mind - _what does it say?_

The brunette didn’t have to wait long to find out; after Elsa laid out her mat she whipped off her top, leaving her in just a sports bra and started to stretch. Maren would like to say she didn’t stare but that would be the most boldfaced lie she ever told. She tore her eyes away from a set of surprisingly well-toned abs and to the left side of the blonde’s ribcage. 

_What we do now echoes in eternity._

The nurse had wrapped her head around that _very well placed tattoo,_ when she was greeted by the tips of _something_ just visible over the edge of the back of Elsa’s bra, directly between her girlfriend’s shoulder blades. Suddenly the room seemed to be 30 degrees hotter and, despite the nearly 40% humidity, as dry as the Sahara. It was bad enough that once the instructor joined them the room was actually 30 degrees hotter but watching the sweat drip down Elsa’s body nearly sent Maren into cardiac arrest. It was the longest 90 minutes of her life. 

She took an ice cold shower before they left to grab dinner. 

* * *

The discovery of surprise number five could be attributed directly to Elsa refusing to describe number four to her over dinner and instead seductively whispering “Why don’t you see for yourself?” in Maren’s ear when the brunette had asked her again as they watched a movie on Elsa’s couch. The nurse traced each of the four Northuldra symbols for the elemental spirits that comprised the snowflake between the blonde’s shoulder blades. She recognized the pattern within the snowflake as being from one of the oldest Northuldra families - a line that was believed to have ended. 

This one was different from the others; it was clear it had been done the traditional way, the same way as the symbols on Maren’s right arm. She couldn’t imagine the amount of pain it had caused especially being so close to bone. A shiver went through Elsa as the brunette’s fingers continued to ghost over her bare back. 

“That tickles,” a grumpy voice sounded before Elsa rolled over and pulled the nurse toward her. The press of the blonde’s bare skin against her own was just as exhilarating in the morning light as it had been when they had crashed into the bedroom the previous night. Maren hummed in satisfaction as she kissed her girlfriend.

“Good morning,” Maren whispered between kisses. 

“Morning, Honeymaren,” Elsa sighed out as her eyes slid shut again. 

“Still tired?” the nurse asked with a teasing lilt even though she could feel the pull of sleep herself.

“Mmmmm, someone’s journey of discovery for, how do you like to put it, surprise number four required an enormous amount of energy. So much energy that she missed what she will refer to as surprise number five.”

Maren had almost slipped back into unconsciousness but sat bolt upright. _Surprise number five?_ The brunette couldn’t possibly imagine what Elsa meant by that since she had explored every inch of the blonde’s skin last night. 

Mirth-filled blue eyes and a smug smirk looked on in silence as the nurse’s eyes raked over the CEO’s body. It took her a moment but she finally spotted it. The outline of _an ice cream cone_ with a _crown_ delicately adorning the smooth top of the scoop just off center from and below Elsa’s right hip bone. Maren didn’t even have to ask, this time. 

“Ice Cream - Ice Queen. Anna’s 21st birthday party is a night we do not speak of. It’s her fault, really. They should also not allow you to get a tattoo when you’re so wasted you can’t really sign your own name.”

The nurse frowned for a moment before bending down to press a soft kiss to the tattoo. “You are not an ice queen, Squish,” Maren said as she laid back down. 

Elsa immediately moved to be closer to the brunette but began to list reasons why she was, without a doubt, the Ice Queen of Arendelle. Maren placed a finger to her girlfriend’s lips. 

“You dote on the people you care about, you volunteered yourself and your entire family to help me move, you visit Cathrine three times a week when you can, your two cats might be the most spoiled felines to ever live on this planet, you single handedly sponsor at least 10 foodbanks, you forgo a yearly bonus so your employees will get more than what the rest of your stingy board offers, you are building a children’s hospital because you decided that would be better than just a standard renovation of the pediatric wing, you -”

“How did you know about that last one?” the blonde quietly asked; Maren could tell she was on the verge of tears.

“I may have overheard you on the phone when I got out of the shower the other morning,” she confessed as she kissed Elsa’s temple. She then moved her hand to Elsa’s ribcage and pressed the words that were there, “Elsa, _you_ live up to these words. That’s why I didn’t even need you to explain this one. Although I did have to look up who said it.”

Elsa merely sniffled and turned so her face was buried in the crook of Maren’s neck. The nurse felt three quick squeezes from the hand Elsa had draped across her waist. She knew what it meant, knew that her girlfriend felt it but wasn’t ready to say it out loud. 

“I love you, too.” 

Soft lips pressed a lingering kiss to her neck and soon she felt the blonde’s breathing even out. The nurse pulled the sheets over their bodies and followed her girlfriend’s example and drifted back to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Order in which Elsa got her tattoos:
> 
> 1\. Ribs - age 16, used a fake i.d. - Quote on Elsa's ribs is by Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor and Philosopher.  
> 2\. Back - age 18, travelled to Northuldra (both a people and a place in this universe) shortly after her parent's death  
> 3\. Right wrist - age 21, matching with Anna  
> 4\. Left inner bicep - age 22, not as epic as a musical number but we take what we can get  
> 5\. Right hip - age 24, Anna and Elsa got real drunk on Anna's 21st. Elsa ended up with Ice Cream-Ice Queen and Anna ended up with a chocolate bar with a bite out of it


	8. Yes! The ShamWow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa stared at her blankly. 
> 
> “SHA-ZAM.”
> 
> “Is that supposed to mean something to me? Are you talking about that super absorbent towel because the science behind that is really very interesting. It has something to do with the -”
> 
> Maren knew she had to stop her girlfriend before she was given an in depth analysis of the properties of the ShamWow.
> 
> “No, nope. I’m talking about the superhero...Shazam. Not the ShamWow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope everyone is having a lovely time! Here we are...a little bit of everything. Some humor, some hurt/comfort, a dash of blood and, of course, happiness!
> 
> Also back on the hella long train and I'm not even sorry ✌🏻

Maren was a little concerned when she stepped off the elevator and saw the door to her girlfriend’s home cracked open. Her concern gave way to confusion as she noticed a suitcase sitting in the small hall that acted as a foyer inside and Anna whizzed by her and set Elsa’s briefcase down next to it. The redhead didn’t even notice Maren before turning and barreling back down the hall and disappearing into the office. 

The nurse slipped off her jacket and shoes, tucking them into the closet before heading in the direction of what could only be described as well-organized chaos. She poked her head around the door frame and could tell that whatever was happening was not good. Elsa stood ramrod straight, phone pressed to her ear and talking a mile a minute while Anna sat at the desk and furiously typed on both her laptop and phone.

The sound of the fax machine had Anna swirling around in her seat and leaping to snatch up the paper and hand it to her sister. Maren could only watch as the sisters then danced around each other like a well oiled machine. Elsa grabbed and skimmed several files as she kept her attention firmly on what was being said on the phone.

“I’m reading it now...And you’re sure...How severe is the...Nothing? Everyone is accounted for and…”

“Wheels up in 45 Elsa. I’ll send the press release to you for approval - I’ll need it back before you land.”

The CEO seemed to flinch but then nodded at her sister in acknowledgement. It was becoming increasingly clear that the calm night in the brunette had been expecting was not going to happen.

“Okay...Yes, I’ll be there tonight...We’ll have to wait for daylight to assess...Yes, I’m aware but you said sending...Well it’s too late now…”

Elsa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose; Maren could tell her girlfriend was trying very hard not to yell. Blue eyes wandered around the space until they landed on the doorway and grew apologetic. 

“Mr. Gilmore, I will call you back when I land. I have a few more things I need to take care of here before I head to the airport. Please have _useful data_ for me.”

The brunette could hear a muffled voice arguing back as her girlfriend smashed the end call button with more force than necessary. It immediately started ringing again and she tossed it to Anna who abruptly answered it.

“What do you need, Eugene?”

* * *

Elsa’s hands were shaking as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a glass. She pressed it to the dispenser on the fridge and filled it halfway before setting it on the counter and making a beeline for her suitcase. The CEO fumbled with the zipper for a moment before warm hands took hers into theirs and soft brown eyes met her own. 

“What do you need?” Maren asked softly.

Elsa took a deep breath; she felt like she needed a million things and all of them involved her feet being planted firmly on the ground but she wasn’t going to get that wish. 

“I need my anxiety medication. Anna usually puts it in that pocket,” she finished as she pointed to the area of the suitcase she had been struggling with. “I should have taken it earlier but I didn’t know what time I would have to fly and I've been on the phone for the past two hours.”

The blonde looked on as her girlfriend undid the zipper with ease and read the labels of the bottles there until she found the right one. Elsa supposed that now was as good of a time as ever for Maren to learn which medications regulated her particular brand of anxiety and depression. She followed the nurse back into the kitchen and watched as the other woman deftly split the pill in half before handing to her. The blonde downed the pill and her glass of water in one shot.

“Thank you,” Elsa breathed out as she gripped the counter until her knuckles turned white. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to use the breathing technique her therapist taught her that usually just resulted in her being distracted by thinking _who the hell breathes like this?_

The CEO was midway through her first count when Maren’s hands covered her own. The nurse’s body pressed flush against her back. 

“Breathe with me,” the soft whisper helped to clear her anxiety addled mind and she slowly felt the tightness that had begun to gather in her chest loosen as she matched each of her girlfriend’s breaths. 

“I’m sorry, I should have called you earlier but this happened right when I walked through the door and then Anna came to help and I lost track of time and now I have to go but you’re -”

The nurse squeezed Elsa’s hands, “How can I help?”

“Would you mind checking on Olaf and Bruni while I’m gone, you can stay here if that would be easier or Kristoff can do it if you don’t want to or can’t or -”

Maren grabbed the blonde by the waist and turned her around so that they were facing each other. She looked Elsa in the eyes as she spoke.

“I would be more than happy to do either - which would you prefer?” The brunette asked even though she already knew the answer. Years of training were kicking in and she knew that the CEO needed to be in control since in just a short amount of time she would no longer be. 

“Could you stay here?” Elsa asked softly. 

Maren nodded before leaning in to kiss her girlfriend, “Of course, I just need a way to get in your front door.” 

Thankful for a distraction from her thoughts, the blonde removed herself from between Maren and the counter and pulled open the drawer that sat below the security feed monitor on the counter. She set a tablet on the counter and pulled out a charging cable. 

“Can I see your phone, please?”

The nurse handed her phone over and moved closer so she could see what Elsa was doing. The CEO typed in something indecipherable before plugging one end of the cable into the tablet and the other end into Maren’s phone. 

“Do you need me to…” the brunette trailed off as her phone unlocked when Elsa pressed something on the tablet.

The blonde once again started to rapidly type on the tablet and Maren watched as the screen of her phone went black and a trail of numbers danced across the screen before the system software started back up. Elsa swiftly disconnected the phone from the tablet and handed it back to her girlfriend without looking up from the screen in front of her.

“So...uh...what’d you do to it?”

“Hmmm?” the CEO asked as she finally tore her eyes away from whatever had captured her attention. The nurse waved her phone at her girlfriend. 

“Oh...I, uh...I gave you a key.”

Elsa smirked as she watched Maren look from the phone in her hand then to her then back to her phone. 

“A key?”

The blonde chuckled, “Yes, a key and well, access to the security system. I may have also upgraded the security software on your phone in the process.”

Maren gaped at her, “You did all that in under five minutes?”

“Yes,” Elsa replied shyly, “Let me show you how it all works,” she said as she led the nurse over to the couch. 

* * *

Anna finally stopped what she was doing and looked at the time - only thirty minutes left until she would have to coax her sister onto a plane and send her to Corona. She took a deep breath and left the office, mentally going through the list of things that needed to be done before they left the penthouse. _Anxiety meds, double check suitcase, figure out who’s taking care of…_

The redhead stopped midlist when she didn’t find her sister where she expected to. Usually Anna had to pull Elsa out of her lab whenever she had to fly because it was the only way the blonde could usually prevent herself from having a full-blown panic attack. Elsa had never liked flying but she had always been able to deal with it until…

Anna shook her head to get rid of the images of the day that changed the course of their lives six years ago. She needed to be calm and supportive for Elsa. Elsa who was nowhere to be found. The redhead nearly let out a groan but caught herself so she wouldn’t ruin the moment she was witnessing. Elsa was curled up next to Maren on the living room couch. Her head resting against the nurse’s shoulder. Maren was running a gentle hand through Elsa’s hair and the two appeared to be deep in whispered conversation. 

The fireplace cast a soft glow that made it appear as though they had a halo of orange light surrounding them and Anna couldn’t help herself. As quietly as possible the redhead took a few steps forward to get a better angle and unlocked Elsa’s phone and snapped as many pictures as she could. At one point Elsa leaned up and kissed the nurse and it was all so sweet that she couldn’t stop the squeal of delight that escaped her lips. The noise caught the attention of the other two women and Anna smiled guiltily before walking the rest of the way into the living room and handing her sister her phone. 

“Eugene said they are expecting you tonight. Please don’t argue with me, they miss you and insisted and didn’t give me a choice so take it up with them. You know that by the time you convince either of them to let you get a hotel it’ll be time to come back. Speaking of which, they’re expecting a minimum of a four day timeline and that is only if it’s straightforward and you can work your magic. Also we need to leave in,” she glanced at her watch, “three minutes. Did you take your medicine?”

Anna looked on as her sister sighed and untangled herself from her girlfriend.

“Yes, Maren helped me with it and she’ll be staying with Olaf and Bruni so you or Kristoff don’t have to drive across town everyday while I’m gone. I’m just going to change and then we can head out,” Elsa said as she headed toward her bedroom. 

The redhead couldn’t help but be surprised that her sister had willingly removed herself from Maren. Her jaw practically hit the floor when her sister returned wearing _sweats_ with two fingers hooked in the hanger of the garment bag slung over her shoulder. 

Sure, Anna had seen Elsa in every type of outfit one could possibly imagine. But sweats, _baggy sweatpants,_ and a sweatshirt from a university that her sister most definitely did not attend if her memory served her well, and it usually did, was not the look she was expecting. In fact, the younger woman was pretty confident that even her sister’s workout clothes were tailored so she had no idea where the blonde could have gotten that outfit.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for that,” Maren called from her spot on the couch and pointed to the sweatshirt the CEO was wearing. 

Anna couldn’t help but laugh as her sister feigned innocence and pulled at the fabric of the hem with her free hand while pretending to notice the logo for the first time. It was then that she realized that Maren had been able to calm her sister in a way that she hadn’t been able to do in the last six years and suddenly she felt a little like she wasn’t needed. The redhead kept a smile plastered on her face as she watched the nurse get up and take the garment bag from Elsa and head toward the door. 

She busied herself with straightening the pillows and blankets on the couch as she mentally prepared for the inevitability that Maren would drive her sister to the airfield instead of her. The younger woman turned her attention to the bookcase and scanned through the large array of books before selecting one to take home with her. She nearly yelped when Elsa’s hand landed on her shoulder. 

“You ready?” Elsa asked.

Anna couldn’t help but smile as she nodded and followed her sister to the elevator after thanking Maren for looking after the cats.

* * *

A sinking feeling filled Maren’s chest when the banner notification popped up on her phone reminding her of the appointment she had tomorrow. Elsa had arranged for the brunette to be measured and fitted for the upcoming gala and was supposed to tag along but was now a thousand miles away dealing with some crisis. 

The CEO had explained it all while they were snuggled together on the couch but Maren didn’t quite understand what the exact problem was because it was so complex and intricate. Something to do with a fire that had caused a system failure in an adjacent lab, and cryostorage that was essential to something Elsa couldn’t tell her, which led to her required presence. Overall, just not good.

That didn’t matter though. She was having a minor freakout because she would now have to go to Arendelle’s most exclusive boutique and tailor alone. The nurse was all for new experiences but this was one that she felt she was woefully unprepared for. Maren immediately called Elsa, hoping they could reschedule and if they couldn’t she would just wear something off the rack. The call rang for a few seconds before her girlfriend’s smiling face filled her screen.

“Hi,” she said as she smiled softly before noticing the worried look on the brunette’s face. “What’s wrong? Is it Anna? Olaf? Bruni?”

“No, no, everything’s fine. It’s just we have that appoint- _Is that Flynn Ryder?”_

The nurse watched as her girlfriend looked over her shoulder and yelped due to the closeness of the man behind her. The blonde gave him a playful shove before a woman’s voice, Rapunzel - Maren reminded herself, could be heard off camera, “Eugene, leave Elsa alone, she's on the phone.”

Maren watched the man leave the frame as he responded, “Yes, but it’s with Maren and I want to meet the woman who has managed to thaw our dear Ice Queen’s heart.”

Elsa rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Maren, “Flynn Ryder, Eugene Fitzherbert. Potato, potahto. Anyway, what were you saying?”

The brunette made a mental note to circle back to the Flynn Ryder thing later.

“We have, or I guess I have that appointment tomorrow to be measured and fitted and I was wondering if it can be rescheduled for when you come back. Or we can cancel it and I can find something on my own.”

The CEO thought for a moment, “We’re cutting it close as it is and while I should be able to wrap everything up tomorrow and be back the day after -”

Maren couldn’t help the squeal of happiness that escaped her; Elsa would be back a day earlier than expected. This was the longest they had been apart since they had officially started dating and it had only been about 36 hours so far but the nurse was feeling a little bit like she was missing a limb.

The blonde chuckled, “You’re as bad as Anna.”

“I just miss my Squish.”

The brunette saw Elsa melt then. Any air of authority she had been exuding was gone and replaced by the look the CEO only ever wore when it was just the two of them. 

“I miss you too, Honeymaren,” she whispered, “so much.”

The two stared at each other for a moment before Maren cleared her throat and got them back on track. 

“You were saying…”

“Right, we’re cutting it close as it is; I don’t think it could get done in time since it’s only a week and a half away. Do you think you’d be okay if Anna tagged along? She’s been going there her whole life just like I have. Oh, and you could always invite Ryder too, if you wanted, I’m sure Kristoff would give him the time off.”

“Finally, you put that big brain of yours to good use. That sounds perfect. I’ll text both of them later and see if they want to come.”

“Oh, I know Anna will. She still wanted to get a new dress even though she’s _not_ coming.”

They both fell into laughter but it was cut short by the sounds of footsteps approaching on Elsa’s end and a piece of paper being placed in her hands. A frown overtook the blonde’s features and she started to mutter something along the lines of “I specifically told him not to touch anything…”

Maren watched as Elsa’s posture straightened and she knew that their brief call was coming to an end. Blue eyes looked back at the camera sadly. 

“Go, so you can come back early. Make sure you eat though, I know how you get.”

“That’s why she stays with us!” Flynn’s voice called out causing Elsa to groan.

“Doesn’t Andersen Corp literally manufacture headphones?” the nurse asked.

The CEO closed her eyes and slowly nodded as if the idea had never occurred to her, “I’m usually alone or DON’T HAVE IDIOTS PURPOSEFULLY EAVESDROPPING ON MY PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS.”

“If you didn’t want me to eavesdrop you wouldn’t have talked to your girlfriend in the dining room! Rookie mistake, Elsa,” he called back. 

Maren laughed, he had a point, but the blonde was not amused.

“I’m going to kill him.”

At that the nurse laughed harder and was met with an icy glare, “What? You? Kill Shazam?”

Elsa stared at her blankly. 

“SHA-ZAM.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me? Are you talking about that super absorbent towel because the science behind that is really very interesting. It has something to do with the -”

Maren knew she had to stop her girlfriend before she was given an in depth analysis of the properties of the ShamWow.

“No, nope. I’m talking about the superhero...Shazam. Not the ShamWow.”

The CEO nodded enthusiastically, “Yes! The ShamWow. It is rather absorbent but the claims they made in those infomercials are heavily disputed; in actuality, it can only hold about -”

“Elsa, you have somewhere to be and while I would love to learn about the properties of the ShamWow can we do that later so I get to see you in two days instead of three?”

Elsa blused and bit her lower lip as she nodded.

“But seriously...Chuck? Fandral? _Nothing?”_

The blonde simply shrugged before the same female voice from earlier called for her and she shouted back “Be right there.”

The nurse knew she would have to be the one to end the call, “I’ll see you soon, Squish. Call me later and tell me about the ShamWow before bed.”

Elsa smiled softly, “Okay, I will. Cuddle Olaf and Bruni for me. I love you.”

Maren didn’t know what she had done right in life to be on the receiving end of those three words but she was going to savor every time she got told them be it three squeezes of Elsa’s hand, a soft whisper in her ear, or through a video call from a thousand miles away.

“And I love you.” 

* * *

The CEO opened the door to her home as quietly as possible. It was nearly two am and she was absolutely exhausted but she had wanted to surprise Maren by coming back even earlier than she had planned. The ever supportive Rapunzel had managed to get her on the plane with minimal effort and a knowing smirk - Elsa had a reason to actually want to fly somewhere. Not that she didn’t love reuniting with her sister and boys, but the blonde knew open arms were impatiently waiting to wrap themselves around her.

Elsa crept to her bedroom, kicking off her shoes and setting her suitcase and briefcase in the closet before slipping into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face and change. She found _the reason_ adorably wrapped in what the blonde determined was every blanket she owned with Elsa’s pillow pulled tight to her chest and Olaf and Bruni curled against her back. As gently as she could, the blonde removed her pillow and then slid into bed without waking her sleeping girlfriend. 

Almost as if she sensed the blonde’s presence, Maren immediately gravitated toward the other woman. When the brunette had settled against her side, Elsa pressed a kiss to her temple and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Anna had been in a great mood. She had spent the previous afternoon helping Maren choose what she was going to wear to the gala and they had made a selection the redhead knew would drive her sister crazy. They had had such a good time that they had arranged to grab brunch before heading to the airfield to pick up her sister. She was looking forward to getting to know Maren a little better and to the obscene number of pastries she was going to order since they still had Elsa’s card. It wasn’t that Anna couldn’t afford it herself, it was just more enjoyable to watch the look of horror on her sister’s face when she was told how many Anna ate. 

She hummed to herself as she stepped off the elevator and let herself in; not noticing that Elsa had been the last person to access the system in the wee hours of the morning. The redhead was greeted by her nephews and she spent a few minutes giving them well deserved pats. 

“Your momma will be home this evening boys, I know you’ve missed her. I’ve missed her too. Now can you tell me where Maren is?”

Both cats just sauntered away from her and sprawled out in the sunlight that was shining through the balcony doors, "I guess not."

She waited a few more minutes before heading down the hall; the door to the bedroom was open so she figured her sister’s girlfriend was probably just in the bathroom finishing up. She poked her head through the open bedroom door to call out to Maren.

She had been in a great mood. 

Apparently Elsa was back early, or at least Anna assumed it was Elsa; she hadn’t stuck around after seeing a blonde head between tan legs and hearing the breathy tone of the words, “Yes, right _there."_ Followed by a desperate, _"Faster!”_

A strangled cry escaped her lips and she screwed her eyes shut causing her to run headfirst into the door jamb as she turned to leave. The redhead made it about three steps down the hall before the blinding pain in her head caused her to have to lean against the wall. An itch-like sensation started to travel down her temple and to her cheek. She touched her forehead and her hand came back red. Anna let out a small groan, feeling a little dizzy. _Great, I’m scarred for life and now I’m bleeding._

Seconds later her sister was in front of her, thankfully she was fully clothed, and blue eyes filled with worry as she looked at her forehead. 

* * *

“Oh, Anna, I’m so sorry. I should have called you but it was so late when I got back last night and then we kind of got...distracted this morning. Maren! Bring some towels, you need to check this out.”

Elsa started to guide her sister in the direction of her bedroom before quickly course correcting to the dining room when she saw Anna try to shake her head. 

“Yeah, you should have,” the redhead said through grit teeth as she applied pressure to her head, “I could have gone my whole life without seeing or hearing that. Maybe I'll be lucky and this head injury will make me forget.”

Maren arrived a moment later, looking equally concerned but ready to go; the nurse set her bag on the table. She placed a gentle hand under Anna’s chin and pried the other woman’s hand off her forehead and visually inspected the cut. 

“E, can you get me a bowl of warm water?”

The blonde was back in a flash and Maren picked up one of the clean washcloths she had grabbed from Elsa’s bathroom.

“Anna, this is probably gonna hurt,” the nurse said as she dipped one of the cloths into the bowl of water before pressing it to the wound. The redhead winced and hissed at the contact. Once Maren had cleared away most of the blood she was able to get a better idea of what she would need to do. She was going to need an extra set of hands and turned to find Elsa who was, unsurprisingly, pacing nearby and wringing her hands while looking full of guilt.

“Elsa,” Maren said softly as she didn’t want to startle the blonde. But that didn’t grab the CEO’s attention. She was about to try again when Anna took the cloth from her hand and held it in place before going to her sister. 

The two of them whispered hunched together, foreheads nearly touching, Elsa reaching out to steady Anna when the shorter woman swayed a little bit, before they shared an embrace and both came back over to the table. 

“All better?” Maren asked. 

“Yes,” the sisters replied in unison. 

“Good, now E, I need you to keep the towel in place while I get the glue ready, then we will need to disinfect the area and I’ll need you to help hold the cut closed as I apply the glue. Anna, this is not going to feel pleasant. Then we’re gonna head to the hospital to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Think we can do that?”

“But brunch and pastries!” Anna protested.

The nurse frowned at the younger woman, “You were literally running away from brunch…”

“I was not running away from brunch! I was running away from... _I can’t even say it.”_

Maren and Elsa looked at least a little embarrassed and the redhead gave them a smug look in return.

“I’ll buy you all the pastries you could ever want _after_ you get checked out at the hospital,” Elsa said slightly exasperated.

Anna frowned and closed her eyes as a dizzy spell hit her, “I’m fine.”

“Anna, even if I hadn’t watched your sister catch you when you swayed less than two minutes ago we would be going. Your history of head injuries basically makes it a requirement anytime you hit your head that hard.”

The younger woman simply huffed, she knew Maren was right and this was clearly a war she wasn’t going to win but she could at least win the battle.

 _“Fine,_ but I want pastries and that one brand of chocolate you get me for my birthday. Please. If that is possible. Is anyone else feeling lightheaded?”

“Whoa-kay, let’s get a move on. Anna, you hold still. Elsa, follow my lead.” 

They managed to patch Anna up easily enough. Cleaning the blood off her face had proved to be a different challenge entirely and the journey through the lobby of Elsa’s building was full of alarmed looks from the security staff. Elsa called Kristoff, while Maren called the hospital to let them know they were on their way. The responsibility of filling out the paperwork fell to Elsa and the familiarity of it made her feel cold to her bones. She had stopped writing long enough that both Maren and Anna had noticed. The younger woman grabbed her sister’s free hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“I’m okay, I’m right here. Just a little bump on the head and a little mental scarring. No biggie. Check the boxes so we can get this over with and go eat.”

Elsa nodded and proceeded to finish up the form. When she returned the paperwork she was handed a plastic cup with a lid. The CEO walked back to her sister and handed it to her.

Anna looked at it questioningly. 

“All women between the ages of 10 and 55 have to take a pregnancy test before getting a CT scan,” Maren supplied. 

“Right,” Anna replied, “well then, I’ll just go…” She motioned to the bathroom.

When the redhead returned, the three of them waited what seemed like ages, Kristoff finally arriving sometime around the 30 minute mark, then Anna was called into an exam room. Kristoff accompanied his wife, which left Maren and Elsa alone to wait. 

“Thank you for fixing my sister’s head,” Elsa said as she placed her own head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. 

“I’m glad I could help. Although I am kind of bummed we didn’t get to finish what we started.”

Elsa was about to tell her girlfriend that she would be more than happy to pick up where they left off when a high pitched squeal of _"REALLY?!?"_ came from the direction of the room her sister was in. The blonde sat up and laughed and shook her head, she was going to have to buy way more than pastries and chocolate in the near future. 

“What is it?” the brunette asked upon seeing the change in the CEO's demeanor.

“I think...” Elsa said as she stood and the door of the exam room was flung open. Anna sprinted to and collided with her sister, pulling her into a tight hug. The widest smile Maren had ever seen was plastered on the younger woman’s face and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I’m going to be an aunt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! 
> 
> There will be more Eugene and Rapunzel at the Gala so...get pumped, I guess?
> 
> And yes, Eugene is an actor with Zachary Levi's resume, it popped into my head and I liked it 🤷🏼♀️


	9. The Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How much champagne did you have, Squish?” Maren asked.
> 
> Elsa laughed at the serious expression on the brunette’s face and fell back against the seat when Jon started to drive; “Only like 3,” she said as she held up 5 fingers. 
> 
> Right, food was the first thought that entered the nurse’s mind; she hadn’t seen Elsa do anything but nibble on a few of the items from the massive spread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just keep getting serious ideas but I try my best to round them out with happiness! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Remind me why we can’t get ready together,” the blonde was practically whining. She was sprawled out on the couch in Maren’s living room having flopped down on it when the brunette refused to show her the dress she and Anna had selected. 

The nurse stood behind the couch and looked down at Elsa, a proud smirk on her face, “I want it to be a surprise when you pick me up. Plus, I was told in no uncertain terms at the tailor that I was not allowed to see yours. The only thing they showed me was a color swatch so I wouldn’t clash.”

Elsa decided to change tactics, “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. 

Tempting as it was, Maren held fast, shaking her head back and forth as the blonde sat up and pulled her in for a deep kiss. The brunette felt her resolve start to melt and pulled away. 

“That won’t work because yours isn’t even here. You’ll just have to wait for tomorrow night.” 

She punctuated the statement with a peck on Elsa’s lips before making her way to the kitchen to see what she could make them for dinner. 

The blonde, for her part, slumped back down onto the couch. Maren set about chopping vegetables and pulling pans out and setting them on the stove until Elsa’s voice broke her concentration. 

“You know that means I won’t get to see you at all tomorrow because I still have to work for half the day, then I’ll be getting ready, and the last time we spent a significant amount of time apart Anna nearly died.”

Maren couldn’t help her massive eye roll or the smile that broke across her face due to her girlfriend’s antics, “Oh my god... _she did not_ nearly die. She hit her head on the door frame and then got what she called ‘the greatest news of her life.’ I just want it to be a surprise,” she finished with exasperation.

“Honeymaren, please. I would have gotten to see it if it weren’t for that stupid emergency.”

The brunette could hear the pout in her girlfriend’s voice and while she had a point she knew better, “Would I have been allowed to see yours?”

Elsa paused for a moment and Maren heard her shift a little on the couch, “Yes.” 

“You hesitated,” she deadpanned as she continued her chopping.

“Please, it’s not like it’s bad luck or anything.”

“Well, then think of it as practice for when seeing me in a dress early will be bad luck, cause I’m sure you won’t be patient then either,” the brunette retorted.

And oh...she just said that outloud. To the woman she had been dating for nearly 4 months...well, 3 months and 23 days but it’s not like she was counting. Neither of them had ever broached the topic of marriage before and Maren didn’t even know if it was something Elsa wanted. All she wanted to do was take those words that seemed to hang in the air between where she stood at the kitchen island and the couch and shove them back down her throat.

The nurse watched wide-eyed as Elsa slowly sat upright on the couch, mouth agape, “What?”

Maren set down the knife she had been using. “Nothing. You said, ‘Please, it’s not like it’s bad luck or anything,’ and I just...stopped talking.”

Elsa swallowed roughly, “No you said, to think of it as practice for when it will be bad luck.”

Maren quickly rinsed off and dried her hands. Then strode to the couch with purpose, this wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have across the room from Elsa. By the time the nurse had reached the couch, the blonde’s face had transformed into something unreadable.

“Can I sit next to you?” the nurse asked softly.

The CEO nodded and sat up so she was cross legged and facing Maren. The brunette thought for a moment before she spoke, wanting to make sure she said the right thing. 

“I know we haven’t been together that long, Elsa, but...I feel it everyday. I-I felt it the moment you kissed me, when you held me close in the rain and when _you_ tell _me_ that you love me. I just...now that I know what life is like with you in it, it’s something I know I want to keep experiencing. And I’m not saying I’m ready to make that particular commitment...not yet, we still have a lot of growth to do but I guess what I’m saying is that I’m all in if you’ll have me someday.”

Elsa was still and Maren could tell the wheels were turning; she had the same look on her face as when she was problem solving for work. After a moment, the blonde started to absentmindedly twist her fingers together and the nurse wanted to make sure she was alright.

“Elsa?”

Her girlfriend opened and closed her mouth a few times before taking a deep breath and meeting the brunette’s eyes. 

“I...When I was little and Anna and I would play, her doll would always end up saved by and married to the prince. That never appealed to me, and I realized why a few years later. But even then, I never really gave marriage much thought and dating was...difficult because I was so much younger than everyone I was interacting with. I was alone for so long that after a while I just figured it wouldn’t happen for me; especially after everything with Hans because that made me feel like I can never truly know someone, never truly trust someone,” she reached out a hand to grab Maren’s when the nurse’s face fell. 

“And now...I won’t lie to you, it hadn’t really ever crossed my mind and I always thought the idea would scare me but, apparently, it doesn’t because _you_ don’t make me feel that way. You make me feel safe...and at home. I never thought I would feel this way about someone.”

Elsa moved over on the couch when she saw tears forming in the brunette’s eyes and Maren practically crawled into the blonde’s lap as she wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in Elsa’s neck. After a few moments, the CEO spoke again, “So...someday when I ask you, you have to be surpris-”

“Why do you get to ask?” Maren interjected weakly, her voice a little watery.

The blonde moved back a little so she could look in her girlfriend’s eyes, “Honeymaren, I love you very much but I think if I hadn’t intervened we would still be sitting on this couch in your old apartment waiting for you to ask me to be your girlfriend.”

Maren felt heat rise in her cheeks, Elsa was right and looking quite smug about it as she wiped away a tear that had trailed down the brunette’s cheek.

“I was very nervous, that was before I figured out you were just a squish of a human being who was more nervous than I was,” she said with a pout.

The blonde leaned in and kissed the pout away. When they finally broke apart, chests heaving and foreheads still resting together, Maren had an idea.

“Does your offer from earlier still stand?”

The CEO surged forward, capturing the nurse’s lips with bruising force, “I don’t…care...about...the dress,” she managed to get out between kisses. 

* * *

Maybe getting ready separate from one another hadn’t been her most brilliant idea. Maren stared at the garment bag hanging from her closet door. The dress inside was worth more than all of her other pieces of clothing combined and fit like a glove and that was precisely the issue. The brunette had no idea how she was going to get herself into the dress and zipped without incident. She called Anna.

Three sharp knocks sounded before the door opened and the redhead announced her presence. 

“Maren, where ya at?”

“In the bathroom! I’m trying to finish my hair but this...won’t...UGH,” the brunette let her forehead fall against the sink. She had pulled a chair from the dining table into the bathroom since she knew she would be on her feet in heels most of the night but her arm strength and patience were waning.

Anna chuckled as she took in the nurse, “Need some help?”

“Please,” she replied with exasperation, “Remind me to never do this by myself again. How does Elsa do it?”

“Oh, she doesn’t. PR won’t let her, she selects everything but there is a team swarming her apartment right now beating her face and doing her hair for her.”

Maren stared at Anna via the mirror, “By PR, you mean you and you’re telling me that I could’ve gotten in on that and she didn’t mention it?”

Anna hummed in thought as she finished pinning the brunette’s hair to match the picture that was displayed on the phone on the counter, “She told me she was going to tell you about it but you didn’t want to get ready together.”

“Well, thank you for coming to rescue me. I didn’t even think about how I was going to get into the dress before I called you,” she said as she got up and went to open the garment bag.

“All I know is that I don’t want to be anywhere near this apartment when she sees you so...let’s hurry,” Anna said as she ran a hand across the still healing cut on her forehead.

The redhead picked up the dress and held it out for Maren to step into before zipping up the back and hooking the buttons that hid the zipper at the top. The bodice secure, Anna set about ensuring the fabric was laying correctly along the back before moving around the nurse to straighten some things out in the front. 

“Feel good?” she asked as she set the shoes Maren had selected on the floor in front of the other woman.

“Perfect,” the brunette replied with a smile, “I can’t thank you enough, I love my brother but I don’t want him to see me in just my underwear.”

The redhead took one of Maren’s hands into her own and gave it a squeeze, “Maren, I’ll always be here to help when you need it. Well, until your niece or nephew pops out, then I’ll be needing your help. Speak of the devil, I need to go throw up now…” she trailed off as she made a beeline for the ensuite bathroom.

Maren stood there dumbstruck for a second, _your niece or nephew_ kept replaying over and over in her head. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes and desperately started waving a hand at her face to stop them from falling and taking her mascara down with them. When she had finally composed herself, she knocked on the bathroom door to check on the younger woman.

“Anna? You okay?”

“I thought it was called _morning sickness_ because it came in the morning,” came the muffled reply through the door followed by retching. “Oh my god...I can’t do this everyday. Maren, make it stop.”

At that Maren opened the door and grabbed a clean washcloth from the cabinet and ran some cool water over it. She placed it on the back of Anna’s neck before moving, as fast as her dress allowed her to, to the kitchen to grab her some ginger tea and crackers. The nurse carefully made her way back to the bathroom with the steaming mug just as there was a knock on the front door. 

“Elsa, come in,” she called out as loud as she deemed socially acceptable. She’d just managed to get Anna to sit up and lean against the wall when the blonde popped her head around the doorframe. 

“Oh my god, Anna, what’s wrong?” Elsa said immediately, worried as she took in her pale and slightly sweaty sister on the floor. She entered the bathroom fully and the brunette suddenly had a singular focus and it was no longer to help Anna.

“I have a parasite. That's what’s wrong,” the redhead replied as she sipped the tea Maren had brought her. 

The CEO turned to her girlfriend in hopes of getting a real answer but was met with glazed over honey brown eyes and an agape mouth. 

“Oh eww, that’s making it worse. Elsa, go so she can finish what she was doing without undressing you with her eyes,” Anna said as she braced herself against the toilet once more.

Elsa sighed but did as she was asked and went to wait in the living room. Anna left a few minutes later, giving assurances that she was fine, just a bit of morning sickness, and that they would talk tomorrow. Once Anna was gone, Maren exited the bedroom and took in the sight of her girlfriend.

Platinum hair was pulled back into a sleek high ponytail, the makeup that highlighted her already gorgeous features had been kept to a minimum as usual and just when the brunette had thought she had gotten used to the rare occasions when Elsa would wear a full blown suit she was proven wrong. She had known about the color, navy that was verging on black, unsurprising really. It was the shirt that was under the perfectly tailored jacket that was causing her brain to malfunction. 

Sheer and lace with a choker style collar with an undershirt, if you were being generous, that blocked out the parts that were For Maren’s Eyes OnlyTM. It was taking most of her will power and a significant amount of physical strength for the nurse to not cross the room and smear her own lipstick all over Elsa. 

Meanwhile, Elsa was having a similar experience and regretting that she hadn’t taken the day off to spend time with her girlfriend beforehand because the next five hours were going to be the longest of her life. Maren had selected a dress that would drive the blonde wild. The swooping neckline showed off the expanse of her chest and the collar bones Elsa was fond of ravishing as she made her way down... _Keep it in your pants, Andersen._ The rest of the dress hugged every curve of the brunette’s body and Elsa officially came to the realization that she was jealous of the clothes on her girlfriend’s body. 

The pair stood there for a few moments, each drinking in the other before the CEO’s phone chirped with a text message. The blonde swallowed roughly, she was in need of a glass of water, or better yet, some form of alcohol. 

“That’s Jon, he says we will be late if we don’t come down soon. You look…exquisite, Honeymaren.”

The nurse blushed harder than she had in the entire time they had been together, “Thank you,” she replied meekly, “You look...just wow.”

She couldn’t hold herself back anymore and closed the distance between them and kissed Elsa as gently as she could but still managed to leave traces of her lipstick on the blonde’s lips. Maren rubbed the spots away with her thumb before resting her head against the CEO’s chest because even in heels she was too short to reach Elsa’s forehead with her own. 

“We should go, you are kind of both the host and guest of honor; I’m impressed you managed to get them to agree to a joint fundraiser and birthday party, by the way,” she said with a chuckle. 

“I figured since I always ask for donations for my birthday anyway, what better way than to kill two birds with one stone. I also told them I was busy every day except for today so they had to combine the two,” the blonde replied as she held Maren closer. “You ready?”

The brunette nodded against her girlfriend’s chest and pulled away to grab her coat. The two left hand in hand and Maren prayed to whatever spirits that were listening to actually be ready. 

* * *

** Anna’s Rules for Successfully Attending a Gala **

**1\. Red Carpet? - Stay relaxed, blink as much as you need and Elsa will guide you to where you need to be.**

Elsa had timed their arrival perfectly; when they were a couple of cars back from the start of the carpet, she gave Maren one final out. 

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Jon can drive you around the back and Kai will let you in.” Soft blue eyes studied the nurse’s face for any sign of doubt and Maren simply grabbed Elsa’s left hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. 

“I can do this, I want to do this.”

A gentle smile filled the blonde’s features before she took a deep breath and an air of authority Maren had never seen in person replaced it. Her girlfriend suddenly looked much older than 24 going on 25 and like she was about to go into battle. The burnette squeezed the hand that was still clasped in her own three times and Elsa seemed to soften a little again.

“I’m sure Jon would be more than willing to drop you around the back if you don’t want to do this,” she teased and that had the Elsa she loved back out in full force, if only for a moment.

They were pulling up to the start now, and Elsa closed her eyes, “Let it go,” she whispered as she stepped out when the door opened. The flashes immediately blinded the nurse and filled the car. She turned back around and held a hand out to Maren to steady her and guide her in the right direction as Jon pulled away. 

The brunette steeled herself, it was loud, just like the sisters had told her it would be but the people were surprisingly polite. Elsa glided down the carpet, stopping to answer questions here and there, never letting go of Maren’s hand. After about 15 minutes they reached the final obstacle. The step and repeat. They were to stand there for five minutes, and after just one Maren had to ask. 

“Squish, how are you not blind?” she leaned up and whispered into Elsa’s ear.

Laughter bubbled out of her girlfriend and Elsa leaned further into her before turning her head to look at the nurse, “I honestly don’t know. You get used to it. We’re almost done, though.”

Maren was about to disagree, she could see the timer placed above the drove of photographers still had over three minutes on it. Suddenly, they were ushered away though and the photographers were going crazy. She looked back to see why and saw a slender woman with a short brown bob and a flowing purple dress and the man she had briefly met via a video call, _Flynn Ryder._

**2\. Mingle - avoid Weasel and whoever is representing Southern Isles Shipping.**

Elsa had, unsurprisingly, been right. Flynn Ryder was definitely more of a Eugene Fitzherbert when there wasn’t anyone around expecting him to be larger than life. He was a doting husband and friend and made sure all three ladies were happy before plastering on his signature smolder and making the rounds. Rapunzel, who was actually the COO of Andersen Corp’s Corona headquarters, was probably the sweetest human in existence and when she and Elsa started talking about work, Maren couldn’t help but beam and nod along. 

After a while, Elsa had to go make her own rounds and gave Maren the option of coming along to talk shop with stuffy people or hanging back with Eugene and meeting some of the more down to earth guests. She chose the latter but kept an eye on her girlfriend for any sign of whether or not she needed saving. It didn’t take long; Maren could see him headed for the CEO from across the room; the red hair, the broad shoulders - Southern Isles Shipping was coming in hot and Maren was powerless to stop it. 

She excused herself and practically ran across the event hall, placing a hand on the small of the blonde’s back just as the red headed man joined the small circle of people Elsa was in. The brunette could feel the eyes of the party on them and she felt her girlfriend relax but the smile on her face didn't reach her eyes and her tone was strained when she spoke, “Mr. Olsen, how nice to see you. Did you have a safe trip up?”

The man extended his hand and Elsa shook it, Maren was amazed when it seemed as though the temperature of the room dropped significantly and her girlfriend looked every bit the Ice Queen people proclaimed her to be. 

_“Dr. Andersen,_ how many times do I have to tell you to call me Caleb, please,” he said with geniality before answering the question. “I did, and I was hoping that we could have a meeting while I’m in town. I want to expand our shipping lanes and I know you’re the woman for the job.”

The CEO took him in for a moment, cool and calculating, “I don’t know if that would be -”

Caleb held up a hand, “I’ve already run it through the lawyers, there’s nothing that is stopping any deal between our companies because of what my bastard of a brother did; in fact they believe it would create good will and open the market for us here in Arendelle and further your market in the Isles. Please just consider it and have Gerda give me a call either way.”

The blonde nodded and Caleb took his leave. Maren looked around them and noticed that everyone was waiting. For what she wasn’t sure but all eyes were glued to Elsa who was remaining as poised as she could. The brunette could practically hear her girlfriend chanting the mantra her father had taught her in her head.

A sudden crash and a string of profanities sounded from the buffet table and Maren’s attention, and the attention of all who had been near the meeting of Andersen and Olsen, was drawn to Flynn Ryder who was covered in mini quiches, a sauce of some kind and a bowl of punch. He was making such a fuss that the nurse didn’t feel Elsa slip away.

**3\. Elsa will try to escape before her speech, keep a close eye on her. Also she’s a champagne ninja - only two glasses before her speech and a shot of tequila after. Anymore than that and I wish you luck.**

Everytime Maren thought she caught sight of platinum hair it vanished before she could catch up to it. She sighed and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing serving tray and studied the room. Suddenly, an unfamiliar hand slipped into hers and she was being pulled in the direction of a door labeled staff only by Rapunzel before she was handed two fresh glasses of champagne and shoved into a dimly lit room. 

Elsa was sitting on a small leather couch in some kind of breakroom deep within the event center. The brunette was thankful that she hadn’t been crying but could tell she was a little shaken. She handed the first of the two glasses to the blonde and watched as the other woman downed it in one shot before handing it back to her girlfriend. 

“They look almost identical, you know?” she whispered as the door opened again and Rapunzel joined them. 

“He probably bought you about 15 minutes, and your speech is in 20,” the older brunette said. 

Elsa smiled up at Rapunzel, “I’ll have to thank him...and buy him a new suit. That’s twice in one night that he’s been my hero,” she said as she took the second glass from Maren and sipped it slowly and looked at her watch. “I just need another minute to get my thoughts in order and I’ll be right out.”

Rapunzel knew that was her cue to go and quietly exited the room, leaving Maren and Elsa alone. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Maren asked as she finally took a seat next to the CEO.

“Not really...maybe later. I would actually like to leave, because I hate public speaking...but I can’t because Kai has all the exits guarded with people looking out for me. The first year we did this, I almost made it to the parking lot before Anna caught me.”

Maren chuckled, leaned in and pressed a kiss just behind Elsa’s ear, “No, you can’t. But I’ll have as much tequila as you want ready for you and then we just have to make it through cake and the tally for the naming of the hospital.”

Elsa groaned, “That...I’m just going to donate however much I have to so that it gets named Children’s Hospital of Arendelle. We don’t need another building with _Andersen_ on the side of it.”

“What! No! Let the people decide, Squish. Plus, I heard that E. Andersen Children’s Hospital is in the lead by a solid 2 million, sooo…And think of how excited all the kids will be when they see your name on the building! It will be so cute!”

The blonde rolled her eyes and stood up, straightening her jacket and offering a hand to help her girlfriend up. They made their way back to the party and the hot topic of conversation was still Flynn Ryder and his tussle with the buffet table and the merits of not putting eccentric movie stars on any of their guest lists no matter who they were married to.

**4\. Elsa doesn’t dance but will be constantly asked - go up to the overlook when she gets uncomfortable.**

Elsa’s speech was flawless and inspired the further donation of over 10 million dollars toward the research department of the soon to be christened children’s hospital. A rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday,” was sung while Elsa was still onstage and Maren ordered two extra shots from the open bar when she saw the shade of red her girlfriend had turned. Once the cake was rolled out and the candles extinguished, the brunette led the blonde up to the overlook for some peace and quiet. 

Anna had been right, as soon as the dancefloor opened it seemed as if a line had formed to ask Elsa to dance. It didn’t matter that she was very clearly not interested in men or that she was obviously with Maren. The tequila had erased a few of her inhibitions and had Elsa sneaking little kisses when she could. Maren for her part, had stuck to Anna and Eugene’s advice: Let Elsa relax, you have one drink but make it a good one.

When they reached the top of the stairs a couple of security guards set up camp at a discrete distance, clearly well rehearsed in turning anyone away so Elsa could have some privacy for at least a few minutes. 

The CEO pulled her girlfriend close and held her. Maren melted into the warm embrace. After a moment, Elsa spoke, “We have about five more minutes, then we’ll have to go back down.”

The nurse snuggled closer and was surprised when Elsa started to slowly sway the two of them in time with the music from the love song that was floating up from the stage. She was about to quip that she thought that Elsa didn’t dance when the humming started with what would have been the first verse if there had been a vocalist accompanying the band. 

At the second verse, the blonde started to sing at a volume that only Maren could hear but it was soft and sweet and the nurse finally understood what Thor had meant when he had said he was grateful that Maren had brought the singing back. Elsa’s voice was smooth like velvet but full of emotion. The brunette felt as though time had stood still and sped up at the same time because before she knew it, the song was over and she was walking back down the stairs hand in hand with Elsa to mingle once again. 

**5.Kai will let you know when it is acceptable to leave - get some food in Elsa, she won’t have eaten.**

The party portion of the evening was in full swing by the time Kai found Maren and discreetly told her Jon was waiting out back whenever they were ready. Somehow in the two minutes she was speaking to him, Elsa had slipped away, found Rapunzel and a tray of champagne flutes, and had donated, anonymously, an additional five hundred thousand dollars to the voting pool to name the children’s hospital after herself.

That was the cue that it was officially time for them to leave in Maren’s eyes. They tag teamed the blonde; Maren distracting her with a delicate kiss while Rapunzel handed off the tray to a nearby server. As the most sober of the trio, Rapunzel came up with a plan to get the announcement of the winning name moved later and agreed to make the speech on Elsa's behalf before helping the nurse guide the giggling CEO out the back door and into the car. 

“How much champagne did you have, Squish?” Maren asked.

Elsa laughed at the serious expression on the brunette’s face and fell back against the seat when Jon started to drive; “Only like 3,” she said as she held up 5 fingers. 

_Right, food_ was the first thought that entered the nurse’s mind; she hadn’t seen Elsa do anything but nibble on a few of the items from the massive spread. She pressed the button for the divider to lower and asked the chauffeur if he could drop them off at Halima’s, thankful it was a Saturday night which meant they were open late. 

Elsa calmed down as they drove further and further away from the gala and was complaining about how starving she was when they finally arrived. The bell above the door tinkled when they entered and Maren quickly led the CEO to her usual corner booth. As if on cue, Mattias appeared with a large glass of water for Elsa and a coffee for Maren.

“So nice to see you again, Elsa, it’s been years,” he said with a warm smile. He would have recognized Agnar’s little girl anywhere.

The blonde looked up at him as if she’d seen a ghost, “G-general, I didn’t...oh wow, I don’t know what to say, I’m...Maren, help.”

The nurse looked between the two of them in confusion while Mattias chuckled, “We can get back to that later but first, how about I bring you our famous dry toast and scrambled eggs. The usual, Maren?”

“Please,” the brunette replied with a smile as she watched him go. She pushed Elsa’s glass towards her and stared her girlfriend down until the other woman had emptied it. 

“So, I take it that introductions aren’t necessary then?” she asked once the CEO set the empty glass back down. 

“Uhm...no, before he was a general he was…” she trailed off and closed her eyes in concentration, “My father, briefly served for five years in Arendelle’s Army and the General, was not a General, he was a Lieutenant at the time and my father was under his command. There was a picture of the two of them that hung in my father’s office; I think they were pretty close. Then after he retired as a General, I think he ran some security for my father. I met him once or twice when I was really little. The last time I saw him was when he came and sat in the back row at the trial. I don’t even know how he got in the courtroom; it was closed to the public. I didn’t know he worked here or I would have come by before now and thanked him for being there.”

Maren took that tidbit in stride, for all the information that was out there about the Andersen family, there was still much to be learned. They were somehow very public figures whose private lives remained, well, relatively private.

The general returned and placed their food in front of them and motioned for the brunette to slide over so he could sit with them as they were his only customers. He let them eat a little and refilled Elsa’s glass before he dove in, asking about the latest innovations Andersen Corp was spearheading and whether or not he could expect a new line of laptops to come out soon. When they had covered all of that, he switched it up.

“So Elsa, how’s sweet little Anna?” he asked with an earnestness Maren had never witnessed before.

Elsa smiled brightly, she relished any chance she got to brag about her baby sister, the nurse had learned that early on. 

“She’s good, she left Andersen Corp about 3 years ago. She runs a social media managing business now, handles everything for the Larsen Reindeer Sanctuary and a few other businesses; it’s actually pretty expansive. For big emergencies, she’ll come back and help with a press release if I ask her to but she’s really much happier with the free flowing business model she’s created. She got married two years ago, and she’s expecting a baby in June.”

Mattias nodded along and looked extremely proud but softly tacked on an additional question, “And she’s okay?”

If the food hadn’t sobered Elsa up, that question would have done it, “It was tough at first but she came out of it stronger.”

“And you?”

Elsa shrugged, “I take it one day at a time.”

Maren watched in awe as large brown hands reached over and plucked Elsa’s left hand from where it had been resting on the table. He held the pale hand delicately in one of his own while the other gently traced the scar across the palm. 

“You did what you had to do,” he said, no judgement, just a fact from a man who had had to do the same. 

The nurse felt like she was intruding, but couldn’t find it in herself to move away. She knew what Elsa had done to save her sister, in fact the defense had tried to use that as leverage during the trial but she had never really thought to ask her girlfriend how she felt about it.

“Doesn’t make me feel less like a monster; another inch to the left and I -”

“But you chose not to,” Mattias said with finality, “I knew your father. I know he taught you how to defend yourself; I know you knew what you were doing and you made the right choice.”

The blonde stifled a cough and a few tears trailed down her cheeks, “Thank you,” she replied and she turned her hand over in his and squeezed it. “And thank you for being there for us; I know it might have seemed like we didn’t notice or recognize you but we did. Knowing you were there was a great comfort, almost like they were with us.”

The general cleared his throat and Maren noticed that his eyes were a little misty and Elsa let out a massive yawn that the nurse now recognized as an indication that the blonde would be a functional human for about twenty minutes at the most. 

“We should get going,” Maren spoke into the silence that had fallen over the table. 

Elsa nodded, her eyes already starting to droop but they took on a slightly mischievous sparkle. 

“General, how much would it cost to buy this place out for tomorrow morning?” the blonde asked, taking on the look of someone who was ready to wheel and deal.

The older gentleman blinked for a moment and seemed to think, “I would say free for you but I get the feeling you and my wife won’t accept that.”

“Very astute. How about this, I’ll pay you what you would usually make during a Sunday brunch and I’ll bring some special people in who will try to eat you out of house and home? Myself and Maren included, of course.”

“I don’t know, I’d have to ask -”

“Take the deal!” Halima’s voice called from the kitchen.

* * *

They walked back to Maren’s at a leisurely pace. Though tired, it was clear to the brunette that Elsa was lost in thought and deep in her own head which meant she wouldn’t sleep so Maren asked the first innocuous question she could think of.

“Why doesn’t everyone call you _Dr._ Andersen?” 

The blonde literally stopped walking and laughed, “Nothing gets by you does it?”

Maren shrugged innocently, “I do really want to know, it’s your actual title; you earned it.”

Elsa slipped her hand into the nurse’s and continued walking for a moment, “My mom was Dr. Andersen, before I was,” she said quietly. “And I know you know me well enough to know that I barely tolerate people calling me Ms. Andersen. I mean, I’m only 24, and sure, I’m in charge of a billion dollar company but...that’s not what you asked. When I first started actually taking over and making decisions, I was only 20 and people had a hard enough time believing I was actually in charge. Throw the idea that I completed a doctoral dissertation at age 19 into the mix and you have a bunch of old windbags who won’t listen because it can’t possibly be true. So I stuck with Ms. and here we are.”

Maren nodded, she did know that Elsa was not a fan of all the formality her job entailed. Another thought occurred to her then and she bit the inside of her cheeks in the effort of not asking it for fear it would upset the blonde. But it seemed as though her girlfriend had a sixth sense. 

“You want to know why Caleb Olsen called me Dr. Andersen instead of Ms. Andersen, don’t you,” she said with a knowing smile. 

The brunette nodded.

“Respect, I guess. He's had nothing but nice things to say about Anna and I even with the whole ordeal. Otherwise, I have no idea.”

Maren hummed in thought for a moment before she asked her next question. They were halfway there and she wanted to keep Elsa’s thoughts far from the discussion at the diner. 

“Any particular reason you’re a champagne fiend?”

Elsa blushed at that and ducked her head a bit, “Yeah, that...I uh, I just get really nervous before I have to speak; as for after, I believe you were the one who plied me with the three shots which motivated me to _steal a tray from a server..._ oh my god, how embarrassing was I?”

“You deserved them and calm down, you weren’t embarrassing. You were cute and you hadn’t eaten enough but Rapunzel covered for you if you don’t remember.”

“That hospital is going to be named after me isn’t it?” she asked with a wince. 

“I think you made sure of that,” Maren said as she laughed and she unlocked the door to the lobby before pressing the call button for the elevator.

When they walked into the apartment, Elsa immediately kicked off her shoes. She collapsed in a heap on the bed, after leaving a trail of clothing behind her; a testament to her state of exhaustion since she usually meticulously put her clothes in the correct hampers. Maren pulled up her nearly sleeping girlfriend and steered her into the bathroom, “Squish, get ready and I’ll bring you some pajamas,” she turned to walk away before quickly backtracking. “Unzip me, please.”

Elsa undid the buttons, her movements slow and methodical, then she gently pulled down the zipper and placed a kiss between the nurse’s shoulder blades before she wrapped her arms around Maren’s waist and put her head on the nurse’s shoulder. 

“Thank you for coming tonight, you were amazing. Everyone who met you loved you. And you saved me, like always.” 

The nurse scoffed but leaned back further into her girlfriend, “I believe you said Flynn Ryder was your hero, _twice,_ to be exact.”

Maren could feel Elsa’s eye roll as the blonde pressed a kiss to the brunette’s neck. 

“He comes in handy, but he could never replace you because you, Honeymaren Nattura, are my favorite person, my personal hero, and my best friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back on the I don't know what's next train but I know it will probably see us a few months ahead of where we are now...maybe a late V-Day fic? A deep dive into Maren's background? 
> 
> Who the F knows.
> 
> If you want to know what color Maren's dress is think of it like a choose your own adventure - you decide. Same deal with the song Elsa sings to her. In my mind it's I Was Made For Loving you by Tori Kelli but I don't like to force myself on others so, you are welcome to pick something else!
> 
> Elsa's suit is literally just a navy blue version of the suit Lena Luthor wore in S5E17 of Supergirl. 
> 
> Stay safe, friends!


	10. Northuldra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the two had settled in for their breakfast/dinner, Elsa shared the idea she had gotten after she woke up from her brief mid-morning nap.
> 
> “So I was thinking,” she started.
> 
> “Oh boy,” Maren teased.
> 
> The blonde rolled her eyes but continued, “You have a week off after your rotation ends, right?”
> 
> The nurse nodded as she took a bite of her sandwich, she quickly chewed and swallowed.
> 
> “Well, I was thinking, since we missed Valentine’s Day and we’ll have been together for six months around that time -”
> 
> “The 27th.”
> 
> “Yes, the 27th, I didn’t forget. Would you like to find out or do you just want to keep interrupting me?” she asked as she quirked an eyebrow. 
> 
> Maren giggled as she picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of fruit, “Please, continue.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. Guys it be rough out here sometimes and by out here I mean this chapter. I had this tiny idea and it kind of exploded in terms of exploring a tiny bit of Maren's past. I'm sorry, it is sad...like I knew it would be but I even surprised myself.
> 
> So a warning, mentions of overdoses and child abuse. There's a double line at the start and end of the section so you know where it's at. 
> 
> Otherwise there is some standard cuteness and happiness.
> 
> K, bye.

It was nearing 4:30 in the morning as Maren trudged through the lobby of her girlfriend’s building. In past years her rotation on night shift hadn’t bothered her outside her body’s struggle to adjust to the new sleeping pattern for the first week. Two weeks in and she was sleeping well again but she only got to see Elsa in the evening, for two hours if they were lucky, before she left, her shift starting at 8:00. She missed the time they usually spent together but it was only a month, it would be over soon enough. The problem she had picked up on was that Elsa was sleeping less and working more. 

“Evening, Maren,” a voice called from the desk as she made her way to the elevator.

“Morning, Thor. Double Espresso, right?” she said with a smile as she set down the coffee she had picked up for the security guard on her way.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Hey, I know your wife’s out of town and you’re doing it all for your boys, it’s the least I can do when you’ve forgotten for the past three days.”

“Well, thank you. Get some sleep and make sure Ms. Andersen does too, she’s looking a little off.”

The brunette sighed, “I know, I’ll see what I can do.” She bid Thor goodbye and took the elevator up to Elsa’s.

The penthouse was dark and quiet but she knew something was off when she spotted Olaf and Bruni curled up on the couch when they usually slept at the foot of the bed. She made her way down the hall and into the bedroom anyway and was unsurprised to find an empty bed. She changed and went through her nightly routine before padding back into the hall. The lab was dark but a dim glow was peeking through the cracked door of the office. 

Elsa was still awake and still in her work clothes. From what the nurse could see the blonde was coding something and occasionally glancing at a schematic laid out under the dim light of the desk lamp. It was clear she hadn’t gone to bed at all. Maren cleared her throat, “Morning, Squish.”

“Morning,” Elsa replied absentmindedly as she continued to type.

“Squish?”

The blonde hummed in acknowledgement before finally pulling her attention away from the screen in front of her. She gasped when she realized Maren was ready for bed.

“Are you back early? Are you feeling alright?” she asked as she got up and crossed the room, worry filled tired blue eyes as she gave the brunette a once over.

“I’m fine. I worked my shift and now I’m going to turn in for the night, or day, and you are coming with me.”

“You...you worked your whole…” Elsa squinted at her watch in the low light of the room, “Oh my god, I have to be in the office in two hours; I have a call...that I will now take from here and then go to bed.”

The blonde recognized the look Maren was giving her; it was her “you need to take care of yourself look,” and it hadn’t made many appearances since they first started dating but the past two weeks had brought it back in full force. 

“I don’t do it on purpose,” she said quietly. “I just...I don’t sleep as well without you.”

Maren reached out and pulled her girlfriend into a hug, she had figured that out by day three when she found a pajama clad Elsa soldering a tiny circuit board in her lab when she arrived after her shift. She hadn’t been overly concerned then because she could tell that the blonde had at least slept beforehand but as the days went on she had slowly figured out that Elsa was averaging 4-5 hours of sleep a night and now, they’d arrived at 0.

“I know, but it doesn’t mean I won’t worry. As soon as you’re done with your call I expect all the cuddles. I love you,” she said before she kissed the blonde goodnight and headed to bed. The boys were quick to join her and she was deep asleep when slender arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. 

* * *

Elsa heard the shower finally start after the three snoozed alarms and got up from the couch where she was reading and made her way to the kitchen. She turned on the coffee maker that had taken residence on her counter and grabbed a mug for Maren to use with her breakfast and a travel mug to go with her when she left. She pulled out everything needed to make her girlfriend’s favorite, a bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwich. The blonde also grabbed some fruit and double checked to make sure the nurse’s lunch bag was in its proper place on the end of the kitchen island.

She had just finished setting the table and was putting the finishing touches on her dinner, what would be Maren’s lunch, when arms snaked around her waist and a head rested on her shoulder. 

“Good morning, Honeymaren,” Elsa greeted when she felt the press of a kiss behind her ear. 

“Mmmm,” was the brunette’s only reply for a moment. “How do you do it? You get so little sleep but still…” she trailed off and gestured everywhere.

The CEO shrugged lightly so as to not jostle Maren too much, “I’ve always been more of a morning person but once it was just me and Anna, I don’t know...I needed to be everything. I was still in school but also the de facto CEO of Andersen Corp and Anna, she couldn’t even drive, let alone get up on time.”

“She still can’t get up on time,” Maren joked, trying to pull the blonde’s thoughts away from that time of her life.

Elsa chuckled, “True, but now that’s Kristoff’s problem. She’s coming to stay tonight.”

The brunette pulled back a little, “Oh?”

Elsa nodded, “I haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time with her recently and if she’s here she'll force me to go to bed.”

The CEO nudged her girlfriend indicating she needed to move and Maren let go reluctantly. They two moved around each other with ease, Elsa preparing herself a plate and finishing up the nurse’s breakfast while Maren fixed herself some coffee and packed a container for lunch and grabbed a water from the fridge to add to her pile of things to take in to work.

When the two had settled in for their breakfast/dinner, Elsa shared the idea she had gotten after she woke up from her brief mid-morning nap.

“So I was thinking,” she started.

“Oh boy,” Maren teased.

The blonde rolled her eyes but continued, “You have a week off after your rotation ends, right?”

The nurse nodded as she took a bite of her sandwich, she quickly chewed and swallowed.

“Well, I was thinking, since we missed Valentine’s Day and we’ll have been together for six months around that time -”

“The 27th.”

“Yes, the 27th, I didn’t forget. Would you like to find out or do you just want to keep interrupting me?” she asked as she quirked an eyebrow. 

Maren giggled as she picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of fruit, “Please, continue.”

 _“I was thinking_ that we could get away for the week. I was specifically thinking we could go to Northuldra. If you want. I uh, I have the house that my mom grew up in. She had kept it, somehow and after...” she trailed off and took a few bites of food, “Anyway, I would really like to see it for real. When I went I just stayed in the house and went to the sessions for my tattoo.”

The brunette had a look of wonder on her face. She was surprised for many reasons but mostly because Elsa was going to take a week off work to spend time with her in Northuldra. Northuldra where she grew up. Northuldra, the place she hadn’t been back to since she left when she was 18.

Elsa was looking at Maren with patient eyes and watching the series of emotions that flitted across her girlfriend’s face.

“We can go somewhere else if you don’t want to go there or we can just stay here. I just thought...you haven’t been back -”

Soft lips cut her off, “I would love nothing more than to wander around and show you everything.” 

* * *

Maren stared up at the orange ball of fur that had perched itself on the very top of the bookshelf in Elsa’s living room. Olaf had easily accepted his fate and was already snoozing in his carrier but Bruni, sweet but sly Bruni, was putting up a fight that the brunette wasn’t going to win by climbing higher and higher. She had been up for over 24 hours in the hopes of getting a jump on resetting her sleep schedule back to normal and chasing Bruni through the apartment was pushing her to the verge of tears.

“Bruni please,” Maren cried out in exasperation. Elsa had warned her that he would be tough to catch but she hadn’t been expecting it to be this difficult. 

Eventually, the nurse gave up on the staring contest and went to lay down on the couch. She woke to a cold nose pressing against her face and the sounds of Anna trying to pull Sven away from her.

“Maren, I’m sorry, he was just so excited to see you,” the redhead whispered. “But he’s our reinforcement, since I see that Bruni is still an acrobat.”

“Yeah, Elsa was right, as usual,” she said as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes while simultaneously trying to stifle a yawn. The brunette watched as Anna whispered a command to Sven and the german shepherd trotted over to the bookshelf and laid down. After a few moments Bruni scurried down and laid out on Sven’s back.

“Really?”

Anna shrugged, “Works every time. You watch him and I’ll grab the carrier.”

Maren did as she was told, she didn’t have the energy to do anything else. When Anna had secured the orange cat she gave her a grateful smile as she got up to help the redhead with the carriers and Sven. When they reached the elevator Anna gave her a hug, “I’ll get Hank to help from here, you go to bed before Elsa sees you. I know she doesn’t have room to talk but...you know she takes care of everyone but herself as well as I do.”

The nurse chuckled at that, “You’re not wrong, but I would like to try to enjoy my vacation so I’m going double check my bags and by then she should be back.” 

The elevator arrived and the aforementioned blonde stepped out, her attention firmly glued to her work phone. She glanced down when a cool nose pressed into her hand and quickly dropped down to give Sven some love.

“Who knew we both ranked behind the dog?” Maren asked. 

“It’s only right, Sven is pretty great,” Anna replied with a smile. She had always loved the relationship her sister had with Kristoff’s dog. In fact, she was confident that Sven would gladly live with Elsa if the blonde would let him.

Elsa, meanwhile, had not paid any mind to either woman and was whispering to Sven, asking him to take care of his cousins as she peppered his head with kisses. When she finally looked up at her sister and girlfriend, she blushed a little. 

“Hi,” she said as she pulled Anna in for a tight hug. “You feeling okay?” 

The redhead nodded; she was thankful that she was now into the second trimester and was no longer constantly vomiting. She grabbed Elsa’s hand and pressed it to her bump where the baby had started kicking as soon as the blonde had started speaking. 

“She loves you, you know? Everytime she hears your voice she starts kicking,” Anna said with a soft smile. 

It took the CEO’s mind a moment to catch up to what her sister had said but as soon as the words registered her head snapped up. “She?” Elsa breathed out as tears started to fall down her face. 

“Yeah,” Anna said, her voice a little watery, “We found out last week.”

Elsa turned to look at Maren who wasn’t fairing much better. The nurse was trying to hold back her tears but was not succeeding. She finally pulled both sisters into a hug and let herself cry, “You two know I haven’t gotten enough sleep to handle this amount of emotion.”

They stood outside the elevator for another moment, Sven had worked his way into the center of their embrace and pressed his head into each of them before barking impatiently. Anna pulled away first; Maren stayed wrapped around Elsa, her eyes drooping heavily both from exhaustion and the emotion of the moment. 

“I think that’s my cue. Olaf and Bruni will be fine,” Anna said preemptively, “Call me when you get there and have a wonderful _vacation._ Maren you have my permission to break her electronics if she tries to work, Andersen Corp can afford to replace them.” 

The redhead grabbed the carriers and made sure Sven was securely sitting in the elevator, she called out a hurried “Love you!” as the doors slid closed, leaving Elsa supporting a near narcoleptic Honeymaren. 

“Come on,” she said as she opened the front door, “We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

* * *

* * *

The first few days of their vacation were wonderful. Maren loved taking Elsa to all the places she had explored as a child, it was cold but they had managed to complete a hike on the brunette’s favorite trail. Elsa for her part was glad to be immersed in the place her girlfriend and mother had called home and was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about it. They even went to the small museum dedicated to the history of prominent Northuldra families and it suddenly made sense to her why the gentleman who had done her tattoo hadn’t charged her; she had given him a massive tip, of course.

Their visit had led to a long conversation about why Maren hadn’t said anything to her about it. She had remembered the first time the brunette had seen the tattoo, how she had touched it with reverence and a gentleness that hadn’t matched her other touches. In fact, every time the nurse touched it was as if it was the first time. Apparently, she wasn’t just _an Andersen,_ her mother’s family was so ancient that they didn’t have a last name, just the symbol, and it was thought that the line had died out when Iduna had never returned. When she shared with the museum curator that her mother had two children, the joy that overtook the older Northuldran’s features was massive and he quickly took down the details to add to the family tree on display. 

After that, she seemed to draw attention everywhere she went. It was different from the attention she received in Arendelle, though. Aside from the obvious, her pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes making her stick out like a sore thumb, she was apparently dating a very popular and precious child of Northuldra.

Everywhere they went, Maren knew someone. The first instance was in the grocery store with an elderly woman, the brunette’s 11th grade history teacher.

“Maren Nattura,” a voice had called as they pushed the cart from aisle to aisle. Maren’s eyes went wide and she stood stock still for a second before relaxing and turning around to face the genial smile on the retired teacher’s face. The nurse returned the smile and quickly dashed down the aisle to give the older woman a hug. 

It happened again at the local diner and bakery. They were stopped several times on the street and everyone seemed to want an answer to the same question, “Where have you been for the last 8 years?”

Maren had supplied various answers, most of them half-true. She had gone to school for nursing in Arendelle and her original plan had been to return home and work at the local hospital but she had fallen in love with the atmosphere of Arendelle General and so had chosen to stay. That was true. What she left out was that once Ryder and Yelena had joined her in Arendelle, she didn’t think she could stomach living in Northuldra on her own. She didn’t regret her childhood but some of the memories were painful but most people didn’t know that. 

They remembered Maren as the bold, brave, helpful and kind person that she was but forgot that her early years, the years that shaped her into that bold and brave teenager, had been unkind. The unkindness reared its ugly head at the midpoint of their trip. 

They had settled into a sort of routine, they would spend the morning at the house and then go out for the afternoon and evening. On this particular day, a couple of Maren’s high school friends had convinced her to meet up at the bar for dinner and drinks in the evening. Elsa had been anxious about meeting new people but had agreed to go along and she was glad that she had.

Maren was laughing and joking with her friends about the time they managed to place a porta-potty on top of the Votech building while Elsa was wondering what it would be like to have memories of high school that didn’t involve studying and being 10 years younger than some of her classmates when she felt a presence next to her. Before she could turn to get a good look at whoever had walked up to their table, the person spoke. 

“Hello, Honeymaren. I heard you were in town,” The voice was light and feminine. 

The nurse’s friends seemed to evaporate, some heading to a nearby pool table, others to sit at the bar, a few to the bathrooms. All the sparkle that usually shone in Maren’s eyes was immediately doused and a darkness she had never seen before took its place. “Hanna.” 

As soon as the name left her girlfriend’s lips Elsa’s eyes widened. 

“Is that anyway to greet your mo-”

“Don’t. You lost that right the night your six year old had to call an ambulance because you overdosed in front of your children,” Maren spat as she stood from her seat and started yanking on her jacket. 

Elsa inhaled sharply; that was new information to her but Hanna didn’t seem phased and perched herself on one of the stools that was recently vacated and took the glass that had sat in front of Maren and threw it back before picking up the others on the table and doing the same. 

“Isn’t that what inspired you to become a nurse? You wanted to save people like me. You should be thanking me,” the older woman retorted. 

The brunette turned and walked away with a confidence she wasn’t feeling but she couldn’t let Hanna win. She had won every other time; she would pop back into their lives and convince the court system to give her another chance only to leave or overdose again and again. Until finally, her parental rights were terminated and Yelena was granted permanent guardianship over Maren and Ryder when they were 10 and 6. It had been 16 years since Maren had seen her and she felt like she was six years old and begging her to wake up all over again.

By the time Elsa had settled the table’s bill and gathered both her and Maren’s possessions, Maren was nowhere in sight and her phone was in Elsa’s hand. One of the group they had been with pulled her aside and gave her directions to where she would probably find her. Elsa took a cab to the edge of town since it would be faster than walking and looked up at the wrought iron sign before following the remaining directions she had been given. 

She found the brunette sitting on a bench across from a tombstone that read _Thomas Nattura._ The gravel under her shoes gave away her approach but Maren continued to stare forward, tears streaming down her face and breaths shallow, as though she wasn’t there. For the first time in their relationship Elsa genuinely didn’t know what to do. There was no playbook for when your girlfriend’s estranged mother randomly shows up at the bar you’re at and antagonizes her to the point she walks out. 

The only thing Maren had said about her parents was that her father had died when she was five and her mother had given up custody of her and Ryder to Yelena. The blonde was now painfully aware that the latter was only half true. Elsa stood behind Maren and eventually settled on setting a hand on her shoulder; she didn’t want to push even though this was a conversation they needed to have. After a few moments, Maren’s breathing evened out.

“She wasn’t always an addict. She was kind and loving and a great mom,” Maren spoke carefully, staring straight at the stone as if she was speaking to her father rather than Elsa. “Then, he died. It was sudden and she was left with a five year old and a one year old. She was in so much pain that she thought...the only way she could...I found her on the bathroom floor. She was convulsing and nearly drowning in her own vomit. We had learned the emergency numbers and how to call them in school the week before,” her tone was far away and small; the blonde could tell the events were replaying through the brunette’s mind.

Elsa walked around the bench to sit next to her girlfriend and Maren immediately snuggled closer to her both because of the cold and her emotional state. 

“After that, we lived in foster care for a while until Yelena agreed to take us in. She’s our great aunt, actually, and never wanted children but...she was, no is, amazing. Then Hanna, she just kept making promises she couldn’t keep and got meaner and meaner and one day she just disappeared. For a while we thought she was dead but then someone texted me a picture of her passing through here a couple of years ago.”

The blonde held her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple. They sat there for nearly an hour before Elsa convinced a shivering Maren to walk back to the house. When they arrived, the nurse immediately crawled into the bed and curled into a ball. Elsa laid next to her, a hand rubbing gentle circles on her back. When she thought Maren was finally asleep she called Ryder to see if there was anything in particular she could do to help her girlfriend but his primary concern seemed to be the woman who caused this turmoil. 

“How was she? Like is she okay, did she look clean?” he asked. He sounded so hopeful. Elsa immediately realized that he was so young when everything happened that he only really remembered her as his mother.

“I honestly don’t know, Ryder. She was drinking, I know that much. She was probably already drunk before she started talking to Maren.”

“Oh, well that’s better than the alternative…” he kept talking but Elsa didn’t hear what he said because the phone was plucked from her hand and Maren walked back to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. The brunette emerged a couple of minutes later and handed the phone back to Elsa. 

“Sorry, he just...he thinks that if he’s good enough, if he does the right thing, helps her out…” she trailed off. “He was so little and she would always tell him ‘If you’re a good boy, mommy will stay.’ or ‘If you do this for me, mommy will stay.’ He doesn’t remember...I didn’t let her...I always protected him.” 

Suddenly it was clearer to Elsa, the tiny scar just under Maren’s right eyebrow was now the only thing she could see - jumping on the bed the nurse had told her and the story of how she tripped and fell down the stairs, breaking her arm when she was 8 seemed even more implausible than it had when Maren had told it. The blonde took a deep breath, she didn’t want to ask but she needed to know. 

“She wasn’t just mean was she?”

“No,” Maren answered as her face crumpled. “He doesn’t know.”

“Does -”

The brunette nodded and took a deep breath, “Yes, Yelena knows. It’s why she agreed to take us in to make sure that I would get the therapy I would need.”

Elsa got up from where she was sitting and took Maren by the hand, leading her back to the bedroom. They laid down and the blonde wrapped herself around her girlfriend; the woman who had been so patient with her, always knew when she needed a supportive hand, could read her better than even her sister, and who protected everyone around her. The CEO wanted nothing more than to take the pain she had seen in the honey eyes she loved away. 

After a while, Maren rolled over in Elsa’s arms and looked her in the eyes for the first time since they’d been in the bar, “Could we...maybe...nevermind…” 

Elsa kissed her, “No, no nevermind. Whatever you want we’ll do it.”

“Can we go back to Arendelle? I don’t -”

“You don’t have to explain, I will drive us there now if that’s what you want,” the blonde said as she started to get up to pack their things. 

Maren got up and started to help, she heard Elsa make a brief call to her sister; vehemently assuring her that they were fine, just heading back early because Elsa needed to check on some things that had unexpectedly come up. Even though she could only hear one side of the conversation she could tell the blonde was getting an earful about flaking out on her vacation. 

They arrived back in Arendelle in the wee hours of the morning; Maren had slept most of the way but still managed to sleep until noon. She awoke to find Sven laid out next to her. When he saw she was awake he started to lick her face she giggled for a moment but cut herself off when she heard the tense discussion that was being had in the living room.

“Elsa, I called Gerda in case she needed help before you got in and nothing that couldn’t be handled by Rapunzel remotely from Corona has come up. We’ve talked about this, you promised not to shut me out again,” Anna sounded deeply hurt. 

Her girlfriend was quiet for a moment and Maren moved to the end of the hall and could see that Elsa was weighing whether or not she should lie to her sister again. 

She cut Elsa off before she could speak, “We ran into Hanna...my mom.”

“Oh!” Anna said with excitement at first, then she remembered what little Ryder had said in the past and took in the look on the nurse’s face, “Oh.”

She turned to face her sister, an apology on her lips. 

“It’s okay, Anna, but would you mind keeping Olaf and Bruni for the rest of the week?”

“Of course, I’ll get out of your hair now. I was just worried. SVEN, LETS GO!” 

Maren felt a gentle bump on her hand and bent down to pet Sven before he followed Anna to the door. 

“I’ll see you guys in four days! Love you!”

* * *

* * *

The remainder of their vacation passed peacefully. They went to Elsa’s yoga classes together and explored parts of Arendelle neither of them had ever seen before. The two women were having a late breakfast when Maren glanced at the small hall by the front door and sighed. 

“What?” Elsa asked as she looked up from her crossword puzzle and took a sip of her coffee. 

“I need to take that and go unpack because it’s been three days and that suitcase just sitting there is driving me insane.”

Elsa chuckled before taking on a more serious look, “You know I was thinking -”

“Again, Squish?” Maren teased.

Elsa rolled her eyes but the brunette could see she was nervous. 

“Sorry, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking...what if you unpack here?”

Maren tilted her head in confusion, “Then all my stuff would be here.”

The blonde huffed, “Well, what if all your stuff was here?”

“Then I’d be going back and forth all the time...I mean, it doesn’t make any sense.”

Elsa closed her eyes, “Okay,” her girlfriend was not getting it, “What if we live together and you understand what I’m saying.”

“Live...together…” 

The blonde was not prepared for Maren to literally throw herself into her lap. Elsa was barely able to keep the chair she was sitting in upright as the nurse kissed her fiercely, “Really?!?”

“I want nothing more than to wake up and go to sleep next to you every day without deciding who’s place we’re staying at or rushing around to make sure Olaf and Bruni are happy and fed. I want to be wherever you are because then I’m at home. So, Honeymaren, will you -”

The brunette cut her off with a kiss and tangled her fingers through platinum hair before pulling her up from the chair and leading her back to _their bedroom._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cool, cool. Thanks for reading as always! I'll be back on track with the happiness in the next one! 
> 
> xoxo,  
> olivesnook33 💋


	11. Case Number 4379421

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I told you, I like this couch,” she said with a pout.
> 
> “I know, Squish, but it doesn’t match anything in the apartment.”
> 
> “That’s why it’s going into the lab. Plus, someone always complains there’s nowhere comfortable to sit in there...so, problem solved. Two birds, one stone,” she finished with a victorious smile. “And, if we do end up converting one of the guest rooms into a space for when our niece comes over, we can just get it covered to match whatever we decide as a place for Anna to have privacy.”
> 
> The nurse studied the steady blue eyes that were trained on her and she could tell there was more to it but she knew if she asked she wouldn’t get the answer she was looking for so she resigned herself to picking her half up when she heard the soft ding of the elevator. When they had maneuvered the couch inside and were moving upward she changed tacts, “You want this in the living room, don’t you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot happens up in here! We are moving along guys! Hope you enjoy!

Maren was huffing and puffing as she let her half of the couch fall to the ground as gently as she could. They had made it through the lobby of Elsa’s building, _our building_ she mentally corrected herself, and they were waiting for the elevator. It had taken two months but she had now officially handed the keys back over to the landlord of the apartment she hadn’t stayed in since before their vacation. Now she just had to finish unpacking once they got this behemoth upstairs and then they would officially share an address.

“I can’t believe you convinced me not only to keep this thing but to move it myself,” the brunette said as she leaned on the back of the couch for support. Elsa had said she was welcome to keep and move whatever furniture from her apartment she wanted; the blonde was more than willing to change the layout and get rid of a few items if needed to make the space a reflection of the two of them. Maren had decided that she really didn’t have any attachment to the pieces of furniture she had picked up over the years, most of it being hand-me-downs, or finds on online marketplaces, so she had settled on donating all of it to the local women’s shelter. 

She thought that when she told Elsa about her plan, the CEO would be supportive, and she was, but she had been firm on one thing: they were keeping the couch. It had caused a small argument, nothing that apologies and whispered “I love yous” hadn’t fixed, but Maren had eventually acquiesced. The brunette wouldn’t pretend to understand Elsa’s rationale for wanting to keep the old piece of furniture but she knew, like all of the blonde’s idiosyncrecies, one day she would figure it out. 

“I told you, I like this couch,” she said with a pout.

“I know, Squish, but it doesn’t match _anything_ in the apartment.”

“That’s why it’s going into the lab. Plus, _someone_ always complains there’s nowhere comfortable to sit in there...so, problem solved. Two birds, one stone,” she finished with a victorious smile. “And, if we do end up converting one of the guest rooms into a space for when our niece comes over, we can just get it covered to match whatever we decide as a place for Anna to have privacy.”

The nurse studied the steady blue eyes that were trained on her and she could tell there was more to it but she knew if she asked she wouldn’t get the answer she was looking for so she resigned herself to picking her half up when she heard the soft ding of the elevator. When they had maneuvered the couch inside and were moving upward she changed tacts, “You want this in the living room, don’t you?”

Elsa smiled softly at her and rubbed her fingers over one of the places the upholstery was slightly frayed, “Maybe, but for now, we can go with the lab and officially decide later.”

* * *

Elsa shut down her computer and double checked that she had stashed everything she could potentially need for the next month in her briefcase. She ran through both her mental and physical checklists before closing and locking the door to her office. The CEO stopped at Gerda’s desk and handed her the keys. 

“Elsa, everything will be fine,” Gerda said in a soothing tone as she watched the young woman relax. She only ever called her by her first name when she knew the CEO needed extra comfort. Maren was working so she was already at the hospital, Kristoff was with his wife, Ryder was in charge at the sanctuary, and Anna and baby Larsen were headed to the hospital so Gerda was Elsa’s only lifeline until she joined her family and girlfriend. The older woman got up and walked around the desk and pulled the blonde into a tight hug. When she pulled back she could still see the apprehension in the younger woman’s eyes.

“What are you most worried about right now?” 

“That I won’t make it on time,” it was practically a whisper. 

“You’ve prepped everyone for this. Jon is already downstairs, her contractions were still 15 minutes apart the last time I talked to Kristoff, and Maren is finishing up her round and will be on her lunch break when you arrive. Just because she’s early doesn’t mean you won’t make it.”

Elsa nodded and took a deep breath, “Okay, so Mrs. Fitzherbert is officially acting CEO for the next month barring any emergency in which the two of you will confer and determine if I need to be -”

“ - called in, yes. Now, go. Enjoy the time with your sister and your niece. I’ll see you in a _month._ If Kai or I so much as catch sight of you in this building...I don’t know what I’ll do, maybe I’ll quit.”

The blonde looked shocked, “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me, Ms. Andersen,” she said with a smile as she walked Elsa to the elevator and pressed the call button. 

As they waited Elsa turned to her one last time, looking more worried than before, “Gerda, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not...I’ve never been...I was too little to even hold Anna by myself. How am I supposed to know how to help her?”

The older woman took her hand and gave it a squeeze, “Your support will be more than enough but if you get desperate you can always call me. My middle girl was very colicky so between her and the other two I’m sure I’ll be able to offer up some advice.”

That seemed to reassure the CEO just as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Elsa seemed to stare into the empty space for a moment before Gerda nudged her forward, “Go on Auntie Elsa, she’s not going to wait for you all day before making her appearance; she’s already impatient.”

The blonde let out a small chuckle at that and pressed the button for the lobby. She watched as Gerda made her way back to her desk and got to work drafting the email that would notify the higher ups of the company of Elsa’s leave.

* * *

Karoline Iduna Larsen came screaming into the world on May 30th, a full 24 hours after Elsa had arrived at the hospital. Anna had been a trooper and Kristoff had been supportive right up to the moment where he passed out as the baby crowned; as burly as he was, he was apparently no match for the miracle of life even though Elsa had warned him to unlock his knees.

She was absolutely perfect and had the softest strawberry blonde hair and the chubbiest cheeks and Elsa was in love. She knew she was only feeling a fraction of what Anna was feeling but as soon as she held her niece for the first time she had never felt a love like that. Seeing Maren hold her increased the feeling tenfold and usually caused her to have a far-off dreamy look on her face which is exactly what was happening when her brother-in-law sat down next to her on the couch as the nurse gently rocked Karoline back and forth as she gazed into the backyard.

“So when are you gonna ask her?” Kristoff inquired offhandedly as if he were simply talking about the weather.

Elsa ignored the question and turned to face him, narrowing her eyes, “Shouldn’t you be taking a nap with your wife? That’s why she’s here, so all three of us can get some rest.”

Kristoff hummed noncommittally.

The blonde stole a glance at her girlfriend before turning back to Kristoff and whispering, “She literally just changed her address.”

“I know you Els, you’re already planning it aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

Elsa bit her lip and looked down at her lap and started to twist her fingers together, “Maybe I have a few ideas but I can’t do anything until Anna is up to shopping with me so it doesn’t matter.”

Kristoff seemed satisfied with that answer and reached over to still his sister-in-law’s fidgeting, “I’m really happy for you, Elsa. If you need any advice, I’ve only done it once but it worked out well for me,” he finished with a smile as Maren joined them. He held out his arms and the nurse gently transferred his daughter into his arms.

“Take this one up to get some sleep, I’ve got her.” Kristoff whispered as he cocked his head toward Elsa. 

* * *

Elsa’s month off seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. She had spent the first two weeks staying with Kristoff and Anna and the last two weeks coming over during the day to help out with chores Anna didn’t have time for since Kristoff was working again. In that time, Maren had secretly hired an upholsterer to recover the couch to match the one that currently resided in their living room, dug out and hung Elsa’s diplomas next to hers in their newly redesigned home office and picked up some sample colors for what she had dubbed ‘Karoline’s Krib.’

She couldn’t be happier with how their home was quickly becoming a blend of their two personalities and had started to further consider her plans for the future. Really, she and Anna just needed to do a little online window shopping before setting a date and time to go in person once Karoline’s schedule was sound. It was late June, a fews days shy of July and Elsa was rushing through her last few reports to get out of the office on time to make it to Oaken’s to meet Maren for dinner when Gerda’s voice rang out on the intercom. 

“Ms. Andersen, I have an Astrid Johansen here. She doesn’t have an appointment but she says it’s a time sensitive matter.”

Her assistant sounded unconvinced and Elsa put her pen down and rubbed her temples. _Do I even know an Astrid Johansen?_ She thought to herself. She tried to run through everyone she had recently met but was coming up short. The name was familiar in a way but she couldn’t, try as she might, put a face to it. The CEO pressed the intercom button to respond, “May I ask what it’s about, I have a...meeting in an hour that I can’t be late for.”

The line was quiet for a moment before Gerda’s voice came through again, “She says it's in reference to one of the patients at the children’s hospital.”

Immediately the significance of the name hit her full force. She practically smashed the button, “Send her in.”

A middle-aged woman hesitantly opened the door of Elsa’s office and stepped in; it had been a few years but the blonde recognized her. The older woman took in her surroundings as the CEO stepped around her desk and crossed the room to greet her, “Mrs. Johansen, it’s so nice to see you again. Is everything alright? Is there a problem with the trust?”

“No, Ms. Andersen, everything in that regard is perfect,” she said with a warm smile. 

“Please, call me Elsa,” the blonde stated as she motioned for the older woman to take a seat on the couch. When the two had gotten comfortable Elsa got down to business. “If this doesn’t have anything to do with the funds, then what’s the problem?”

A serious look came over Mrs. Johansen’s face and she seemed to be weighing her words carefully.

“Elsa, as you know, I am the social worker for case number 4379421 -”

“Cathrine,” Elsa interrupted, “her name is Cathrine, she’s not just some number.” She couldn’t help herself, Anna had been so close to becoming just another file on someone like this woman’s desk. If it hadn’t been for their unique financial position and her established work history, she was sure things would have turned out differently. 

“Yes, Cathrine. She is doing much better, in fact the doctors have said she can enter the system as soon as we’re ready for her. The issue we’ve come across is that we’ve put out feelers with our families that have been willing to take on tough cases in the past but no one has been willing or interested in taking on a child with Cathrine’s unique needs.”

The CEO sat there, mouth agape. Cathrine was a sweet little girl who didn’t deserve the hand she had been dealt and now this. “Even with the trust?”

The social worker nodded, “We also try to take into account what the child might want when that’s an option.” 

Elsa looked at her blankly, waiting for her to continue and when the other woman didn’t say anything else, it slowly dawned on her.

“Me?” she asked in surprise as she stood up and started pacing, any control over her reactions was swiftly lost and the mask of professionalism she had been keeping up fell away completely.

"Don't look so surprised, Elsa," Mrs. Johansen said as her eyes followed the path Elsa was taking around the room. "You're the only person outside of myself and hospital staff that has ever visited her. She is very fond of you and your partner and has repeatedly told me so."

Elsa stopped pacing and stood in front of the massive windows and gazed at the fjord. After a moment she turned to face the older woman, "What exactly are you saying, Mrs. Johansen?"

* * *

Maren made it to Oaken’s before Elsa and the hostess, now very familiar with her, led her straight to their usual secluded booth in the back. When Elsa arrived a few minutes later she looked slightly frazzled. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and she was quieter than she had ever been, more so than even their first date. The nurse watched as Elsa picked at her food and when her girlfriend didn’t touch the chocolate cake Chef Oaken had made specially for her she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Squish, what’s wrong?” she asked as she motioned for Erik to bring them the check and a box for the cake.

“I’m sorry, I just...can we talk at home; it’s not something I want to do in public.”

The nurse’s eyes grew wide and her thoughts started racing through anything she had done recently that might have upset Elsa. A gentle hand grasped hers across the table, “Stop that,” Elsa said softly, “If anything, you might be upset with me.”

“I highly doubt that,” she said as she stood and offered her hand to Elsa. The blonde picked up her box and grabbed Maren’s hand and entwined their fingers. 

They decided to walk home, the cool air of the summer night helping Elsa organize her thoughts. She hadn’t agreed to anything; she couldn’t, not without talking it through with Maren. In fact, she still wasn’t sure of her feelings on the matter truly were. Mainly because the thought of parenting a child terrified her. Anna had been autonomous, she hadn’t had to worry about anything except that she was in the right places at the right time. Karoline was great because she could hold her and feed her and love her before handing her back over and going home. She didn’t know if she could handle a small human relying solely on her. Well, not just her but she didn’t know how the nurse would feel about it. 

Before she knew it she was standing outside their front door and Maren’s patient eyes were studying her, “You gonna come in, Squish?” 

Elsa nodded, “Yepp, let’s change and then I’ll just...fill you in I guess?”

Maren would never get over seeing Elsa with her hair thrown up in a messy bun and pilfered sweats from her side of the closet. She remembered the look on Anna’s face when Elsa had changed into the very outfit she was currently lounging on the couch in and realized that this was yet another thing that was shared just between the two of them. She sat down on the couch in the living room next to her girlfriend and immediately picked up her hand and started playing with her fingers. 

“Honeymaren, how do you feel about children?” she asked as she gazed at the dark fireplace.

The nurse’s movements immediately stopped, of all the things Elsa could have possibly wanted to talk to her about this was not what she was expecting. 

“Uh...hmm...I like them, obviously, but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking me, is it?”

Elsa let out a small chuckle, “I knew I would be bad at this,” she mumbled to herself before turning to face her girlfriend. “Do you want children?”

Maren’s knee jerk reaction to the idea of having her own children in the past had been a hard and fast no for a litany of reasons all stemming back to Hanna. She didn’t know what Elsa’s answer to that question was but she suddenly felt like she wanted, no needed, to see the woman she loved as a mother someday.

“With you? Someday, yes,” she replied as she lifted the hand that was still clutched in hers to her lips and kissed the back of it. 

The blonde nodded and took a deep breath, Maren’s answer had sealed it for her. “What if someday was next month?”

Maren’s brow furrowed, _next month? Does she want to have a baby?_

“Is this...are you saying...you want to have a baby?”

“What? No. I’m not ready for _that,”_ Elsa shuddered as she thought back to the birth of her niece the previous month. “God, I’m saying everything all wrong,” she was about to get up but Maren reached out and held her in place. 

“Why don’t you tell me what brought this on then? Start at the beginning. Is it Karoline?”

The blonde shook her head as she leaned into her girlfriend, “Astrid Johansen came to see me today.”

“Yeah?” she asked. She didn’t see what relevance the hospital’s social worker had to their current discussion. 

“I know you don’t get to see her as often as you did since the children’s hospital opened but Cathrine’s most recent scans were all clear so the doctors have recommended that she is ready to leave.”

“That’s great!”

The nurse felt Elsa nod against her chest, “It is but…” she hesitated, knowing that this was the point of no return and what she had to say could potentially upset the brunette, “none of the families they’ve reached out to have been interested in fostering her. So, if someone doesn’t step in, she’ll be placed in the first available slot.”

Maren tensed behind her and that was why Elsa had been trying to be vague. After their trip to Northuldra, the brunette had opened up to her about her and Ryder’s time in the system and to say it had been unpleasant would be an understatement. The blonde leaned up and pressed a kiss to Maren’s lips before she continued. 

“She came to see me today because, when they can, they like to take what the child might want into account and -”

“Cathrine wants you,” it was suddenly so obvious; every time Maren visited the small girl she was always asking about Elsa and talking about what she and Elsa had done during her last visit. The blonde was the only person who didn’t know her just because she worked in the building she lived in. Elsa chose to know and love Cathrine. 

The CEO had gone still, “Cathrine wants _us._ She’s very perceptive, you know.”

“And what did you say?”

“That _we_ would have to talk about it. I didn’t even know if you wanted children, in any form, and to be honest if I had had to guess I would have gone with no.”

The nurse pulled her tighter to her body, “You wouldn’t have been wrong,” Maren admitted quietly.

“But…”

“But you make me feel like I can do anything.”

“Yeah?” 

Maren pressed a kiss to Elsa’s temple, “Yeah.”

* * *

They started the grueling application process the next day. It would have been easier if they were married because they would have been able to apply and be interviewed as a couple. Elsa was tempted to just bite the bullet and change all her plans but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Maren deserved for it to be special and perfect and unrushed and not just thrown out there to make life easier so she would wait until everything was settled down. 

But finally, after two weeks the blonde had approval papers tucked in her briefcase as an early birthday surprise for Maren. On her way home, she popped into Oaken’s and picked up the nurse’s favorite cheesecake. She had just walked in the door when her phone rang indicating a video call from Anna.

“Any news yet?!?” her sister said by way of greeting.

“Hello to you too, Anna. And you don’t get to know before Maren,” she saw her sister start to make her way down the hallway toward Karoline’s room. “Don’t you dare use her to try to convince me. That’s not fair. I told you I would call you tomorrow.”

The redhead stopped mid stride and headed back down the hall to her and Kristoff’s bedroom, “Fine. Is she home yet? Can we talk about…”

“I have a half hour I think, so yes but let me just…” she trailed off as she crossed to the counter and turned on the security feed. “Okay, what are you thinking, have you picked a day that works for you?”

“Yes, I was thinking sometime next week. Karoline gets her two month shots tomorrow then our schedule is clear.”

“Okay, I’ll look at my schedule tonight and let you know tomorrow I was thinking we could start at -”

She stopped talking when she heard the front door unlock and wondered how she had missed the brunette on the monitor.

“I have to go, we’ll talk tomorrow. Love you,” she said as she hung up and tried to make it look like she was in the kitchen for some reason outside of just staring at the screen to see Maren walk by. 

“Keeping secrets are we Squish?” the nurse asked as she wrapped her arms around Elsa’s waist and kissed her cheek. The blonde was like putty in Maren’s hands and the nurse knew it, “Tell me,” she sing songed. 

“In a minute,” Elsa said as she leaned further into Maren’s embrace. She was thankful she had this secret to give away because she could never keep anything from Maren for long. In fact, she had caught herself almost asking the brunette what kind of ring she wanted on more than one occasion in the past two months.

The brunette hummed at that, “Anna was trying to get it out of you?” 

“Always,” the CEO replied with a sigh as she turned around in her girlfriend’s arms. She leaned in and kissed her soft and slow. When they broke apart she leaned her forehead against Maren’s. “I missed you today.”

“Board meeting?”

The nurse felt the gentle movements of Elsa’s head against her own, “I thought you were finally going to fire Weasel. I would’ve thought that would be fun for you.”

The blonde shrugged, “Less fun than I anticipated. A lot of yelling, even more paperwork.”

Maren leaned in and kissed her passionately and slowly started to pull the CEO in the direction of the hall to head to the bedroom. As much as Elsa wanted to get to that part of the evening, she knew if they went to bed now, they wouldn’t get to the reason this all started until morning. The blonde pulled away and giggled when Maren opened her eyes and sent an affronted look her way. 

Elsa pressed a kiss to the corner of the nurse’s mouth, “Just a minute, I have to give you something first.”

* * *

It was a typical Thursday afternoon; the CEO made her usual stops throughout the children’s hospital. There were many more children now, the old pediatric wing at Arendelle General combining with the old children’s hospital in Northuldra while renovations were underway there. When she had greeted and caught up with most everyone she headed for Astrid Johansen’s office.

Maren was already waiting outside, her back to the blonde. From the set of the brunette’s shoulders Elsa could tell she was apprehensive. 

“Honeymaren,” the CEO said as she slid her hand into the nurse’s, “We’re already approved to foster, it’s just a formality and then we get to go tell her.”

The brunette nodded and closed her eyes, “What if I -”

Elsa cut her off, this was a conversation that had repeated itself several times over since they had decided to do this. 

“Look at me,” she said softly. She waited until those soft brown eyes she loved so much met her own. “You are nothing like her. You won’t even raise your voice during an argument. You are the bravest, kindest, most loving person I know.”

At this point Maren had started to cry so Elsa pulled her into a nearby vacant office and pulled the shorter woman into a tight embrace, “You don’t give yourself enough credit,” she whispered into the other woman’s ear. “I was...I was so miserable before I met you. I felt alone and scared and like I was trapped in a life where I couldn’t be happy. For the longest time I thought that was just how I was wired. But you,” she pulled back so she could look in the brunette’s eyes again, “you make me feel safe and loved and happy and at home. If you can make Cathrine feel even a fraction of that she will have a better start in her new life than either of us had.”

She reached up and wiped away the tears that were trailing down her girlfriend’s cheeks. They stayed there for a moment to let Maren compose herself before they headed back out into the hall to knock on the social worker’s door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all Elsa is just trying to go ring shopping but life said: No. 🖤


	12. So They Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How ya feelin’, Squish?”
> 
> “Like my heart might burst from my chest. How about you?”
> 
> “About the same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am considering this some filler. I have the week off next week and hope to get a good chapter out to y'all and to my Korrasami peeps too!

Once Cathrine had run and jumped into Maren’s arms upon hearing the news any doubts she had been feeling started to melt away. The little girl happily buried her face in the crook of the brunette’s neck as she whispered that her birthday wish came true. She was so excited that she would get to leave the hospital for something other than school and that she would have what she was referring to as a “real house.”

The joy the little girl was feeling was infectious and even the usually stoic Mrs. Johansen was misty eyed. When Cathrine finally let go of Maren it was only so she could curl up in Elsa’s lap and fall asleep like she usually did. The tiny green-eyed girl might have been cancer free but the years spent fighting the disease had taken a toll on her body. 

As Cathrine napped the two women were briefed on the child’s entire medical history; Maren was relatively familiar with it, having been there at the beginning and intermittently when extra help was needed but Elsa had only been informed of the bare minimum in the past. The brunette watched as Elsa pulled Cathrine closer to her when they got to the particularly harrowing parts and went through the tests and check-ups the child would have to continue to endure for the rest of her life. 

When they left the hospital, the blonde was quieter than usual and Maren could tell she was processing everything. The thought that every fever, ache or bruise could end up being life threatening for the little girl was tough to stomach and even statistics and research, which usually brought Elsa comfort, did little to help. 

“Whatcha thinkin’, Squish?” she asked as she reached over and grabbed one of Elsa’s hands while driving them home. Cathrine had one more week of final tests and then she would be released into their custody.

“I don’t really know, if I’m honest,” the blonde replied. 

The brunette squeezed the hand she was holding before letting go so she could safely merge onto the freeway to get across the city faster; they had a lot of planning and work to do to make their home ready for a child and she planned on using every available second. 

“Well, when you figure it out, I’m right here. You’ve talked me down for the past three weeks, I know I can do the same for you.”

Elsa let out a tiny chuckle at that, “Are you implying that I’m going to freak out?”

“Squish. I know you,” she replied as she glanced over and smiled at her girlfriend, “Besides, Anna has briefed me on all the warning signs since you refuse to call her after 5 pm for fear she and Karoline are asleep.”

“Hey, that’s valid! They both need as much sleep as they can get,” the CEO weakly protested as she turned her gaze toward the window and looked at the sun setting over the fjord. 

“Still,” Maren continued, “I know there’s something rattling around in that big brain of yours and it doesn’t matter what time it is, when you’re ready, I’m ready.”

Elsa nodded, her gaze still locked on the horizon. The rest of the drive passed in silence and Maren made the executive decision to take a detour to Halima’s. They needed dinner and Mattias could always distract the CEO with anecdotes of how she used to terrorize the security staff of Andersen Corp by slipping into the labs unnoticed until there was inevitably a loud crash when she tried to “help.” 

Her plan worked and the blonde seemed to perk up a little, especially after Halima had slipped her the last piece of chocolate pie. When they had returned home and made a list of everything they needed to get done, Elsa seemed to slowly drift back to her thoughts from earlier but still didn’t say anything. Finally, after they had both worked the next day and were wrapped up in each other’s arms in bed, she was able to sort through everything swirling through her mind and give them a voice.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. She always found it easier to talk about her fears in the safety of the dark where no one could read her features and she could keep her voice steady. 

“Elsa, you’re already great with her, you can only get better. If anything you’ll -”

“That’s not it. I know that we’ll figure it out together but it’s nice to know you have so much faith in me,” she paused to press a kiss to Maren’s lips. She was a little scared about that too but she knew everyone who cared for children felt that way. The fear she was feeling now was bigger, different, and stemmed from her darkest memories.

“I just...I’ve never had a big family. I didn’t have grandparents or aunts or uncles and cousins. It was just the four of us and then...I-I watched the plane my parents were on crash on live tv. I just stood there. Powerless. In the blink of an eye they were gone and I…” she took a shaky breath. She had never even told her sister that. The only other person who knew was Gerda because she had been with her in the labs of Andersen Corp that fateful day. “Then it was just Anna and me and she almost...I listened to her choking, gasping for breath. I-if I hadn’t been strong enough to get up...I-I can’t watch...what if -”

The blonde stopped talking and quiet sniffles were now the only sounds that reached Maren’s ears. She rubbed a soothing hand up and down Elsa’s back. The brunette hadn’t thought about the strength it took for her girlfriend to go to a hospital every Thursday and see sick and dying children when she had already seen so much. 

“Elsa, I can’t predict the future. I can’t promise you that she’ll stay healthy forever. I can hope for that.  _ We _ can hope for that and...we can do everything in our power to try to help her stay healthy. You already have a plan for the food and vitamins and anything else she might eat. You took the cats to the vet for a health screening and made monthly appointments even though they told you that wasn’t necessary since they’re indoor cats.” She reached up and cupped the blonde’s cheek. “And you won’t be alone; you won’t have to be everything. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be by your side every step of the way. I love you and somehow, through some sort of magic, you love me. So we’ll get through whatever life decides to throw at us together.”

Elsa pulled the nurse closer and rearranged herself so that her head was resting on the other woman’s chest and she was listening to the beat of Maren’s heart. 

“It’s not magic, you know,” she said softly.

The brunette pressed a kiss to the crown of Elsa’s head, “Feels like it.”

* * *

They made it through their Saturday furniture shopping unscathed; it was much simpler than either of them had expected. They chose pieces that any child could grow into and arranged for it to be delivered Monday evening so that Elsa could have the Sunday while Maren was at work to secure the lab.

As soon as the nurse stepped off the elevator she could feel the floor vibrating and couldn’t help but laugh. The bassline from the music the blonde played when no one else was around quickly reached her ears through the door and walls and a wall of sound hit her when she walked in. Elsa would listen to anything but her guilty pleasure was emo, more specifically screamo. Maren had been unsurprised, it suited her girlfriend perfectly, but every screlt made the brunette cringe.

She made her way to the living room and turned the volume to a level she could bear before heading in the direction of the lab. She found Elsa perched on a stoll glaring at the panel she was going to install as part of the new locking mechanism. 

“Always so angsty, Squish,” Maren said as she crossed the room to greet the blonde. 

Elsa rolled her eyes as she got up from her stool and held the brunette at arm’s length, “It’s about balance; I have to make up for Anna’s love of bubblegum pop. Yours too, actually. Not as tough as you look are you?”

“Never said I was,” the nurse said as she giggled and reached out to pull her girlfriend in for a kiss. They stood there for a while, content to share each other’s space before Maren couldn’t help herself anymore. 

“There’s quite a large hole in our wall,” she said with a smirk.

The CEO huffed, “I’m aware and I’m working on it. This,” she said as she removed one of her arms from around Maren’s waist and gestured to the panel, “is more uncooperative than I was anticipating. I’m going to have to call Rapunzel, she designed it and this is only the second one ever produced. Clearly we still have some bugs to work out but -”

The nurse cut her off with a kiss, “I know you’ll get it done but how about you take a break, do something that’ll clear your mind.”

Elsa leaned into Maren and hummed as she tapped her chin, “I guess I could get started on the A.I. integration I’ve been putting off.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” the nurse said flatly.

The blonde slowly closed the distance between their lips and stopped just short of their meeting, “I know, you’re just so fun to tea-” Suddenly she was no longer on her feet; Maren had swiftly lifted her off her feet and into her arms. “OH MY GOD! Honeymaren, you can’t just...no, wait, this is really hot. Proceed.” 

Maren laughed as she adjusted her grip on Elsa and carried her out of the lab and down the hall. 

* * *

Maren never thought she would see the day that she was thankful for her girlfriend’s terrible sleeping habits but the week leading up to Cathrine’s arrival proved her wrong. If it wasn’t for Elsa’s ability to function on six hours of sleep (there had been a good deal of negotiation as to the number of hours the blonde would dedicate to at least resting her eyes) they never would have finished everything in time.

They managed to assemble all the furniture in one sitting on Monday night; well, they being Elsa. Maren had tried to help but gave up after the blonde swatted her hand away for a third time. Instead, she took up residence in the bean bag chair they had picked out and read. The painters were over on Tuesday so the CEO worked from home and finished up her work on the lab, and the rest of the week was spent trying to reign in the number of books and toys they each wanted to buy and making the penthouse as Cathrine friendly as possible. 

The two women were standing in the middle of the local bookshop when things came to a head. 

The nurse insisted that they didn’t need a copy of every available children's book but Elsa was skeptical, “Honeymaren, reading sets the foundation of learning for the rest of a child’s life, I want her to have every option possible. What if she doesn’t like princesses or dinosaurs? What if she likes sci-fi?”

“Elsa,  _ you _ like books, of course you want to buy them all. Just get a few classics. You don’t get to use Cathrine as a reason to be more of a book hoarder than already you are.”

The blonde was pouting at her but Maren held her ground; the penthouse was already full of books. The living room bookshelf was overflowing, the office shelves were in a similar state, the lab had stacks of textbooks and journals piled in various places, and the guest rooms each had small shelves with few open spaces. 

“Have you even read all of them?”

“Yes, it’s why I’m, how do you like to put it, ‘pop culturally unaware.’”

“Would you be willing to part with some of them?”

Elsa gasped, “I...but...it’s not hoarding if it’s books.”

“Okay, but still...there are duplicate copies of several titles. I think we could go through them and clear a lower shelf so Cathrine can have some books in the living room next to her toy chest.”

“Oh, so we’re getting two toy chests now, are we?” 

Maren sputtered for a moment trying to come up with a rationalization as to why the little girl would need one in her room and one in the living room, “Yes, for family games and...and...that mini-engineering set with all the small pieces that you bought her before this was all even final.”

The blonde started to laugh. Here they were having an argument about how much stuff Cathrine would want when they had already given her what she truly needed. “We’re going overboard aren’t we?”

The nurse started laughing too and reshelved a few of the books Elsa had picked out, “Yes, how about we stick to the list she gave us and then see if there’s anything else she wants once she gets settled?”

“And you say I’m the one with the big brain,” the CEO teased as she went through the stack of tomes she was holding and handed a few more over to her girlfriend to be put away. When all that remained were the few books that that little girl had specifically requested, they headed to the register to check out.

They exited the shop hand-in-hand and walked to the waiting car. When they arrived at their building, Hank was waiting for them with a grim look on his face. The older man ushered them into the lobby as he spoke.

“So they know,” he said and gestured to the few members of the press he had sequestered behind a movable metal barrier outside of the building.

Elsa nearly dropped the bag of books she was carrying. This was something else she had been dreading - the press. She knew that this was something she would never be able to bury, no matter what exclusive she offered about Andersen Corp but she thought she would have more time. She remembered the confusion that she had felt the first time she saw her own face staring back at her from one of the many magazine stands outside of Andersen Corp; she was 13 and had just graduated from high school and apparently that was unique enough to earn her a place next to the actress who’s face took up the majority of the cover. 

“What? How? We’ve been so careful. Not even everyone in our circle knows. Just you, Gerda, Anna and Kristoff, and Ryder and Yelena.”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t say but we’ll double everything for her arrival Friday and I’ve already contacted Kai about getting you an escort out of the hospital. Once the novelty of it wears off and they get their pictures it’ll die down like always.”

Maren wrapped an arm around Elsa’s waist. She could see her girlfriend running a thousand different scenarios through her mind and trying to come up with a solution that would protect Cathrine. 

“Well, what exactly do they know?” the blonde asked.

“All they currently know is that the two of you have decided to foster a child. They don’t know anything about the kid other than they will be arriving on Friday.”

The CEO nodded and bit the inside of her cheek, she would have a lot to do tonight but it would be worth it if it worked.

“So, we get her tomorrow instead of Friday morning, Maren can pick her up after her shift and I’ll move the press conference I was going to do in the morning to the afternoon. That should distract them enough to get her here. If you use the garage at the hospital and come through the back of the building when you get here no one should see the two of you.”

“But that means you’ll miss -”

“I know,” she said with a sad smile, “but I would rather her have a comfortable transition and feel safe. I’ll get to see other firsts, I’m sure,” the blonde turned and pressed a kiss to Maren’s temple. “What do you think, Hank?”

“There’s a reason you’re the boss,” he said with a chuckle, “neither Kai nor I thought of that. But I would feel more comfortable if someone went with Maren or met her there. Just in case.”

Maren perked up at that, “I know just the guy. He’ll be so excited.”

* * *

“Elsa!” 

The tiny voice echoed through the lobby as soon as she walked through the door. She heard the pitter patter of tiny shoes on the marble floor and soon caught sight of the little girl they belonged to as Cathrine popped out from behind the security desk. She had chocolate smeared at the corners of her mouth, clear evidence that the General had slipped the little one sweets when he tagged along to pick her up.

Cathrine ran across the lobby and Elsa bent down to meet her and scoop her up. “We waited for you!”

“I see that, Kitty Cat. Did you have a good day?” the CEO said as she walked in the direction of her girlfriend with the little girl on her hip.

“The best! They throwed me a goodbye party and I had cake and then I met Destin and he’s super nice and he gave me chocolate and left some for you too and then Maren showed me you on the TV! I didn’t know you could be on the TV!”

Elsa quirked an eyebrow at Maren who shrugged, “She wanted to know where you were, it is Thursday after all, and the cake was before I got there. As for the chocolate...I plead the fifth,” she finished as she rubbed her thumb across the corner of the little girl’s mouth. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Elsa’s cheek before whispering, “Hi.”

“Hi,” the CEO breathed out, “you didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Hmmm...but we kinda did. Hank changed the settings and you currently have the only working elevator code, sooo…”

Tiny hands cupped the blonde’s face and Elsa was met with hopeful green eyes, “Can we go home now?” 

Elsa set the little girl on her feet and pointed to the elevator, “It’s that one, go press the button.” 

The couple watched as Cathrine gleefully skipped across the lobby to the elevator that would take her up to her new home. Maren slipped an arm around Elsa’s waist as they walked toward the elevator.

“How ya feelin’, Squish?”

“Like my heart might burst from my chest. How about you?”

“About the same. She was very proud of you when I showed her your press conference and asked when I was going to be on TV.”

Elsa chuckled and the nurse continued, “Although I do have some questions, how come you know how an artificial vascular graft works but you can’t tell the difference between bronchitis and the common cold?”

The blonde rolled her eyes, “Will you let it go? Without my complete and utter lack of self-awareness when it comes to illnesses, we wouldn’t be standing here today. Plus, how long have we been together now? Almost 9 months and I haven’t gotten sick again while you have been down for the count at least 3 times.”

“It’s here!” Cathrine called out as she jumped up and down before running inside the open doors. The two women followed her in and Elsa quickly typed in her code after the doors closed. 

“How come theres no buttons?” the little girl asked as she stood on her tiptoes to get a better view of the keypad. 

Elsa and Maren shared a look, they had prepared for this. They didn’t want to scare the little girl and if Elsa was honest with herself, her current security arrangements were probably a little excessive but there was always a nagging fear in the back of her mind so she didn’t change them. 

“Well, this elevator only goes to one place and that’s our apartment,” the blonde picked Cathrine up so she could get a better look, “You can think of this like the key to the front door. You remember how there was one of these on the outside of the children’s wing before you moved? Do you know why it was there?”

Cathine nodded, “So that people who weren’t allowed couldn’t get in.”

“Exactly,” Maren supplied. “Same thing here. We don’t want just anyone to be able to get to the apartment.”

They passed the last few minutes of the ride with idle chit chat and soon the doors slid open to reveal the front door. Elsa set Cathrine down and watched as the little girl sprinted to the door and started hopping from foot to foot in excitement. 

Maren unlocked the door as she and Elsa joined her, “Whenever you’re ready, you can open it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe, friends and catch ya on the flip side!


End file.
